Abstract
We demonstrate that Ag@Ni core-shell crystals with a cubic morphology can be prepared via a non-aqueous method that employs oleylamine to reduce Ni precursors into metallic Ni which is deposited on the pre-synthesized Ag nanocube cores. The as-prepared typical Ag@Ni nanocubes have an average size of 71.1 nm and shell thickness of 7-9 nm. Electron diffraction and XRD analysis reveal a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure for both Ag and Ni. In addition, Ni shells are found to adopt an unusual epitaxial growth over Ag {100} facets. Due to the incorporation of magnetic metal component, the as-prepared Ag@Ni core-shell nanocubes are magnetic controllable in solutions and exhibit room-temperature superparamagnetic properties. The simultaneous combination of multiple functionalities in one nanoscaled entity makes the Ag@Ni core-shell nanocubes a useful functional material which can be applied in diverse fields. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.