Conductive nanosheets produced by UV irradiation of a Ag nanoparticle monolayer at the air-water interface.

In a previous study, we demonstrated that conductive Au nanosheets can be prepared by UV irradiation of an Au nanoparticle monolayer spreading on water. In this study, we applied this UV irradiation technique to inexpensive Ag nanoparticles (NPs) to expand their versatility. UV irradiation of Ag NPs on water resulted in the formation of large Ag NPs and was ineffective for preparing conductive Ag films. The solubilization of additives in the water phase, however, resulted in the conversion of the large Ag NPs into a nanosheet, and the solubilization method was highly effective for preparing transparent conductive Ag films with an optical transmittance of above 70%.