Nano-sized silver powders were directly prepared by high-temperature flame spray pyrolysis an ultrasonic spray generator was used in the process The silver powders were nanometer sized and had a spherical shape further they did not show a tendency to form aggregates Their mean size was 26 nm The mean crystallite size measured using Scherrer s equation was 26 rim Conductive silver films were formed from the nano-sized silver powders The powders sintered completely at a firing temperature of 400 degrees C Conductive silver films fired at temperatures between 400 and 500 C had a dense structure and similar thicknesses The specific resistances of conductive silver films fired at temperatures of 400 450 and 500 C were 8 3 3 6 and 2 7 mu Omega cm On the other hand a conductive silver film formed from submicron-sized silver powders had a high specific resistance of 19 mu Omega cm at a firing temperature of 450 C (c) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved