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Silver Rod
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Purity | Diameter | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 99.95% (3N5) to 99.999% (5N) | 1mm to 50mm | 10mm to 1000mm |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Key Features
Goodfellow Silver Rod combines the lowest electrical resistivity and highest thermal conductivity of any pure metal with excellent workability and well-characterised physical properties, suited to precision electrical, thermal, and scientific applications:
Lowest Electrical Resistivity of Any Metal (1.63 µΩ·cm)
Silver Rod offers an electrical resistivity of 1.63 µΩ·cm at 20 °C — the lowest of any metal — making it the material of choice for reference electrodes, current collectors, electrical contact blanks, and conductive components in sensors and precision instruments where minimising resistive losses is the primary electrical requirement.
Highest Thermal Conductivity of Any Pure Metal (429 W/m·K)
With a thermal conductivity of 429 W/m·K, Silver Rod is used as thermal conductivity test specimens and in precision thermal management components where the highest possible heat transfer through a solid metallic conductor is required and well-characterised thermal properties are essential for accurate measurement and modelling.
Wide Mechanical Range (172–330 MPa tensile strength)
Tensile strength ranging from 172 MPa in the soft condition to 330 MPa when hard-drawn allows Silver Rod to be supplied and processed across a range of mechanical requirements — from ductile electrode blanks requiring minimal forming forces through to harder-drawn stock for contacts and precision components subject to mechanical loading in service.
Excellent Machinability & Workability
Silver Rod's face-centred cubic structure gives good ductility and machinability, making it straightforward to cut, turn, and form into electrodes, contacts, and custom components without specialist processing — supporting rapid fabrication of precision parts from rod stock in both research and production environments.
Defined Photoelectric & Nuclear Properties for Research
A photoelectric work function of ~4.26–4.3 eV (polycrystalline) and a neutron absorption cross-section of 63.8 barns make Silver Rod a specification-controlled material for photonics and nuclear physics experimental work where traceable, well-characterised stock is required for reproducible results.
Industrial Applications
Silver Rod is used across electrochemical research, thermal metrology, microelectronics, materials science, and nuclear physics where the lowest electrical resistivity and highest thermal conductivity of any pure metal are required in a machinable, specification-controlled rod form:
- ✦ Reference Electrodes & Current Collectors
- Used as reference electrodes and current collectors in electrochemical research, where an electrical resistivity of 1.63 µΩ·cm and high purity ensure reproducible electrochemical behaviour and minimal resistive contribution from the electrode material across voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and electrolysis experimental setups.
- ✦ Thermal Conductivity Test Specimens
- Employed as thermal conductivity test specimens in materials metrology, where Silver Rod's position as the highest thermal conductivity pure metal at 429 W/m·K and its well-characterised, traceable physical properties make it a reliable reference and calibration material for thermal measurement instrumentation and comparative testing programmes.
- ✦ Electrical Contact Blanks & Brazing Alloy Substrates
- Machined into electrical contact blanks and used as brazing alloy substrates, where the combination of lowest metallic resistivity, good machinability from the face-centred cubic structure, and a melting point of 961.9 °C supports fabrication of precision contacts and joined assemblies in sensors, switches, and precision instruments.
- ✦ Nanoparticle Synthesis & SERS Substrate Fabrication
- Serves as a reproducible high-purity starting material for silver nanoparticle synthesis and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate fabrication in materials science and nanotechnology research, where consistent rod purity and well-defined physical properties are essential for reproducible nanostructure formation and optical response characterisation.
- ✦ Thin-Film Deposition
- Used as source material for thin-film deposition in research and microelectronics fabrication, where high purity and consistent physical properties ensure predictable deposition behaviour and film characteristics across sputtering and evaporation processes.
- ✦ Photonics & Nuclear Physics Research
- Applied in photonics and nuclear physics experimental work where a photoelectric work function of ~4.26–4.3 eV and a neutron absorption cross-section of 63.8 barns are required properties, and where traceable, specification-controlled rod stock provides the material consistency essential for reproducible experimental results.
Synonyms
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 47 |
| Crystal structure | Face centred cubic |
| Electronic structure | Kr 4d¹⁰ 5s¹ |
| Valences shown | 1-2,2 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 107.8682 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 63.8 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 4.7 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 107/ 51.83 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 109/ 48.17 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.144 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 21.5 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 7.58 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 3/ 34.8 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Hard |
| Material condition | Soft |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.367 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.367 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 103.6 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 103.6 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 82.7 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 82.7 |
| Izod toughness( J m⁻¹ ) | 5 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 95 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 25 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 330 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 172 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 1.63@20°C |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.0041@0-100°C |
| Thermal emf against Pt (cold 0C - hot 100C)( mV ) | 0.74 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 2212 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 10.5@20°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 961.9 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 2390 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 103 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 237@25°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 429@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 19.1@0-100°C |
Tolerances
| Diameter | =<10mm | ±10% |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | >10mm | ±5% |
| Length | <100mm | ±1mm |
| Length | >=100mm | +5 / -1% |