Wet-chemical templateless assembly of metal nanowires from nanoparticlesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Fig. 1S. UV-vis spectra from toluene compared with that of Au and Ag nanowires after vigorous washing and drying in N2. Fig. 2S. Core level XPS spectra from the nanowires dispersed on a Si substrate. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/cc/b4/b414447n/

We describe a new, simple, room-temperature wet-chemical approach for assembling Au and Ag nanoparticles into nanowire networks, withoutthe use of lithographic templates. Five to 35 nm-diameter nanowires passivated with a thin organic layer were synthesized by mechanically agitating a biphasic liquid mixture of an aqueous hydrosol containing the nanoparticles, and toluene. Nanowire structure and surface chemistry are discussed based on electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses.