Self-organization of mesoscopic silver wires by electrochemical deposition

Sheng Zhong; Thomas Koch; Stefan Walheim; Harald Rösner; Eberhard Nold; Aaron Kobler; Torsten Scherer; Di Wang; Christian Kübel; Mu Wang; Horst Hahn; Thomas Schimmel

doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.142

Self-organization of mesoscopic silver wires by electrochemical deposition

Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2014 Aug 15:5:1285-90. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.5.142. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Sheng Zhong¹, Thomas Koch¹, Stefan Walheim¹, Harald Rösner², Eberhard Nold³, Aaron Kobler⁴, Torsten Scherer⁵, Di Wang⁵, Christian Kübel⁵, Mu Wang⁶, Horst Hahn⁷, Thomas Schimmel⁸

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Applied Physics and Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany ; Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.
² Institute of Materials Physics, University of Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany.
³ Institute for Materials Research I (IMF I) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany ; Joint Research Laboratory Nanomaterials (KIT and TUD), Technische Universität Darmstadt (TUD), Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany.
⁵ Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany ; Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMF), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
⁶ National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 21009, China.
⁷ Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany ; Joint Research Laboratory Nanomaterials (KIT and TUD), Technische Universität Darmstadt (TUD), Petersenstr. 32, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany ; Helmholtz Institute Ulm Electrochemical Energy Storage, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany ; Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience, NUST, Nanjing 21009, China.
⁸ Institute of Applied Physics and Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany ; Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany ; Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience, NUST, Nanjing 21009, China.

Abstract

Long, straight mesoscale silver wires have been fabricated from AgNO3 electrolyte via electrodeposition without the help of templates, additives, and surfactants. Although the wire growth speed is very fast due to growth under non-equilibrium conditions, the wire morphology is regular and uniform in diameter. Structural studies reveal that the wires are single-crystalline, with the [112] direction as the growth direction. A possible growth mechanism is suggested. Auger depth profile measurements show that the wires are stable against oxidation under ambient conditions. This unique system provides a convenient way for the study of self-organization in electrochemical environments as well as for the fabrication of highly-ordered, single-crystalline metal nanowires.

Keywords: crystal growth; electrochemistry; electrodeposition; mesowires; nanoelectrochemistry; nanowires; self-organization; silver nanowires; silver nitrate; stability.