Kai's paper has been accepted by Chemistry–A European Journal (Impact factor: 5.160), and was selected as a Hot Paper. Congratulations! In this work, we proposed a novel strategy to syntheize hollow silver nanocrystals which are difficult to be obtained by conventional methods.

Title: Solid-to-hollow conversion of silver nanocrystals by surface-protected etching

Authors: Kai Liu, Hongpo Liu, Qikui Fan, Shumeng Zhang, Zhaojun Liu, Lu Han, Houshen Li, and Chuanbo Gao*

Link to the Publisher: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chem.201804282

Abstract: Although hollow silver (Ag) nanocrystals possess unique plasmonic properties, there remains a lack of robust strategies to synthesize such nanocrystals with high efficiency and controllability. To solve this problem, here, we report a novel surface-protected etching strategy to convert solid Ag nanocrystals, which are widely available from conventional syntheses, into their hollow counterparts, producing a family of hollow Ag nanocrystals as demonstrated by the hollow nanospheres and nanotubes in a convenient manner. The key is the surface modification of Ag nanocrystals by a minor amount of Pt prior to a controllable etching process, which accounts for enhanced stability of the Ag surface and thus etching of Ag from the inner part of the nanocrystals while retaining their overall crystal morphology. These hollow Ag nanocrystals show distinctive optical properties, as demonstrated by the enhanced optical transmittance of flexible electrodes fabricated with Ag nanotubes, compared with the nanowires. We believe these hollow Ag nanocrystals hold a promise in different plasmonic and electronic applications.