Well-defined silver nanowires were synthesized by an alcohol-heating method using silver nitrate as a predecessor in the presence of poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB). The effects of reaction time and temperature for growth of crystal were investigated to generate pure silver nanowires in 24 h at 140 ℃. The products were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), thermogravimetry (TG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy (Raman). It was shown that the synthesized silver nanowires with a face-centered cubic structure grew along (111) direction to single crystals. Meanwhile, crystallization mechanism of the silver nanowires was considered. The influences of reaction time and temperature on the morphology development were experimentally examined. The results showed that the time and temperature had a significant effect on the formation of the silver nanowires according to strong SERS effect. The possible nanowire growth was also predicted.

Key words: silver nanowires, poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB), alcohol-heating method