Synthesis of Hierarchical Dorsal Spine Ag2 S Structures by a Solid-Vapor Reaction: The Effect of Reagent Gas Composition

Silver sulfide hierarchical structures with unique dorsal spine morphology were successfully synthesized on mechanically deformed silver substrates by simple solid-vapor reactions. It has been found that it is possible to change the structures morphology by changing the reagent gas composition. The carbon monoxide (CO) presence in a reactive sulfur atmosphere was found to be the key for growing the dorsal spine structures. In all cases, the [subscript]Ag2[/subscript] S structures grew on the edge of the silver substrates where high plastic deformation occurred.