Preparation of silver spheres by aggregation of nanosize subunits

Dispersed uniform spherical silver particles were prepared in the absence of a protective colloid by rapidly mixing concentrated isoascorbic acid and silver-polyamine complex solutions. By varying the nature of the amine, temperature, concentration of reactants, silver/amine molar ratio, and the nature of the silver salt, it was possible to tailor the size of the resulting metallic particles in a wide range (80 nm to 1.3 μm). The silver spheres were formed by aggregation of nanosize subunits, the presence of which was detected by both electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Due to its simplicity, high metal concentration, and the absence of polymeric dispersants, the described method represents an advantageous route to manufacture cost-effectively dispersed uniform silver particles for electronic applications.