1 research outputs found
Ultralight Conductive Silver Nanowire Aerogels
Low-density
metal foams have many potential applications in electronics,
energy storage, catalytic supports, fuel cells, sensors, and medical
devices. Here, we report a new method for fabricating ultralight,
conductive silver aerogel monoliths with predictable densities using
silver nanowires. Silver nanowire building blocks were prepared by
polyol synthesis and purified by selective precipitation. Silver aerogels
were produced by freeze-casting nanowire aqueous suspensions followed
by thermal sintering to weld the nanowire junctions. As-prepared silver
aerogels have unique anisotropic microporous structures, with density
precisely controlled by the nanowire concentration, down to 4.8 mg/cm<sup>3</sup> and an electrical conductivity up to 51 000 S/m. Mechanical
studies show that silver nanowire aerogels exhibit “elastic
stiffening” behavior with a Young’s modulus up to 16 800
Pa