Ultralong silver trimolybdate nanowires: synthesis, phase transformation, stability, and their photocatalytic, optical, and electrical properties.

Ultralong orthorhombic silver trimolybdate nanowires (NWs) can be synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process without using any structure directing agent. Their phase transformation and stability to thermal and modeling sunlight from a Xe lamp have been systematically studied. Well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles can in situ form on the backbone of the nanowires by photoirradiation, and their photocatalytic and optical properties have been investigated. The investigations on photocatalytic, photoluminescent, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of the as-synthesized nanowires indicate that these nanowires loaded with Ag nanoparticles by photoirradiation can be a new kind of photocatalytic and luminescent material and potentially can be used as an efficient SERS substrate. The electrical conductivity of an individual nanowire exhibits almost nonlinear and symmetric current/voltage (I/V) characteristics for bias voltages in the range of -5 to 5 V. Ohmic mechanism, Schottky, and the Poole-Frenkel emission play an important part, respectively, in low, medium, and high electrical fields.