Plasmonic Silver Nanobelts via Citrate Reduction in the Presence of HCl and their Orientation-Dependent Scattering Properties

Abstract

Silver nanobelts were synthesized without any external seeds or templates using a facile hydrothermal route via citrate reduction in the presence of hydrochloric acid. Both H⁺ and Cl^– ions in HCl are important for the generation of nanobelts. The morphology can be controlled by varying the concentration of HCl and citrate. The obtained nanobelts have 3D orientation-dependent optical properties. By tracking the transportation and rotation of the nanobelts in cells or other biosystems, useful information related to the physical or chemical surroundings may be obtained