Symmetric dendritic silver structures with controlled morphology were successfully synthesized by a solvothermal method with the assistance of monocrystalline silicon. The morphology and structure of the dendritic silver were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the architecture of silver crystals could be controlled via simply adjusting the experiment parameters: AgNO(3) concentration, reaction time and temperature. Moreover, structural characterizations suggested that the dendritic silver structures preferentially grew along (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) directions, leading to the formation of dendritic structures with 1-2 mu m in stem diameter and 10-50 mu m in length. Additionally, the formation process of the dendritic silver structures was studied, and a possible formation mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.