@article{Duan2025, 
author = {Hanyi Duan and Haiyan Tan and Jie He},
title = {Unconventional seed-mediated growth of silver with a macromolecular NHC-Ag precursor},
year = {2025},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {18},
number = {7},
pages = {94907147},
keywords = {N-heterocyclic carbene, nanorods, seed-mediated growth, binding strength, polymer ligands},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2025.94907147},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2025.94907147},
abstract = {A “new” Frank-van de Merwe growth mode of Ag has been achieved using a macromolecular N-heterocyclic carbene-Ag(I) (NHC-Ag) complex. This polymer NHC-Ag acts as both a metal precursor and a capping ligand in the seed-mediated growth of Ag on gold nanorods (AuNRs). The newly deposited Ag nanospheres de-wet the lateral surface of AuNRs due to the strong capping of NHC-Ag motif, resulting in phase separated Au-Ag nanostructures with a contact angle of ~ 120°. Remarkably, this growth mode is also applicable to even homometallic systems, enabling the formation of Ag "islands" on Ag-coated AuNRs. This design principle opens alternative pathways to design colloidal nanoparticles with specific and otherwise challenging anisotropic nanostructures.}
}