Extremely Stable Ag-Based Photonics, Plasmonic, Optical, and Electronic Materials and Devices Designed with Surface Chemistry Engineering for Anti-Tarnish

Silver (Ag) metal-based structures are promising building blocks for next-generation photonics and electronics owing to their unique characteristics, such as high reflectivity, surface plasmonic resonance effects, high electrical conductivity, and tunable electron transport mechanisms. However, Ag structures exhibit poor sustainability in terms of device performance because harsh chemicals, particularly S²⁻ ions present in the air, can damage their structures, lowering their optical and electrical properties. Here, the surface chemistry of Ag structures with (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTS) ligands at room temperature and under ambient conditions is engineered to prevent deterioration of their optical and electrical properties owing to S²⁻ exposure. Regardless of the dimensions of the Ag structures, the MPTS ligands can be applied to each dimension (0D, 1D, and 3D). Consequently, highly sustainable plasmonic effects (Δλ < 2 nm), Fabry–Perot cavity resonance structures (Δλ < 2 nm), reflectors (ΔR_Reflectance < 0.5%), flexible electrodes (ΔR_electrical < 0.1 Ω), and strain gauge sensors (ΔGF < 1), even in S²⁻ exposing conditions is achieved. This strategy is believed to significantly contribute to environmental pollution reduction by decreasing the volume of electronic waste.