In situ generation of sub-10 nm silver nanowires under electron beam irradiation in a TEM

Here, we report a facile irradiation-assisted route to fabricate sub-10 nm Ag nanowires fromoxide supports using a TEM. The obtained Ag nanowires show a tunable length/diameter aspect ratio with a minimum diameter of about 9.5 nm. Moreover, the nucleation and growth dynamics of Ag nanowires were uncovered from TEM observations.