Single-step synthesis of hierarchical flower-like silver structures with assistance of gallic acid

We synthesize hierarchical flower-like silver microspheres with tunable size and shape, using ascorbic acid as reducing agent and gallic acid as structure-directing agent. The chemical nature of the gallic acid plays a vital role in the process of assembling silver particles into Chinese rose hierarchical structures. By changing the amount of gallic acid or silver nitrate solution (AgNO3), it is easy to adjust the anisotropic morphologies of as-synthesized silver structures and promote the preferential growth, resulting in a complete, clear, and stable multi-layered floral silver structure. This single-step wet-chemical synthesis method provides a new synthetic strategy for the anisotropic growth and morphology control of flower-like silver particles.