Hierarchically structured 2D silver sheets with fractal network

Oriented attachment can be used as a good synthetic route to make highly anisotropic nanostructures including nanorod, nanowire, nanoplate, and nanosheets. In a typical growth of anisotropic nanostructures, coalescence and reshaping after attachment make dense nanostructures. In this report, we show the formation of Ag sheets having fractal network by oriented attachment at low reaction temperature of 30 °C. The synthesized Ag sheets exhibited good crystalline nature despite of their network structure and low synthetic temperature. We also investigated the effect of reaction conditions for the formation of the Ag sheets. In addition, using the Ag sheets as a sacrificial template, we could make hollow Au sheets via galvanic replacement. Keywords: Ag sheets, Fractal network, Oriented attachment, Aqueous-phase, Au sheets, Galvanic replacement