Quasi one-dimensional nanowires possess unique electrical, electronic, thermoelectrical, optical, magnetic and chemical properties, which are different from that of their parent counterpart. The physical properties of nanowires are influenced by the morphology of the nanowires, diameter dependent band gap, carrier density of states etc. Nanowires hold lot of promises for different applications. Basic electronic devices like junction diodes, transistors, FETs and logic gates can be fabricated by using semiconductor and superlattice nanowires. Thermoelectric cooling system can be fabricated by using metallic nanowires. Semiconductor nanowire junctions can be used for different opto-electronic applications. Moreover, periodic arrays of magnetic nanowires hold high potential for recording media application. Nanowires are also potential candidates for sensor and bio-medical applications.In the present article, the physical and chemical properties of nanowires along with their probable applications in different fields have been reviewed in detail. The review also includes highlights of the synthesis of nanowires via porous anodic aluminium oxide template since the technique is simple, cost-effective and a low temperature technique.

Substrate-free pure-phase BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles doped with alkaline earth metals (Ba, Sr and Ca) have been synthesized by a sol–gel route and their thermal, optical, dielectric and magnetic properties are discussed. The characteristic structural phase transitions of BFO nanoparticles are found to occur at much lower temperatures. A reduction of the Néel temperature has been observed in the doped samples in comparison with the pristine one, whereas the band gap shows a reverse trend. Iron was found to be only in the Fe3+ valence state in all the doped samples. Magnetoelectric coupling is seen in our samples. Weak ferromagnetism is observed at room temperature in all of the doped and undoped BFO nanoparticles with the largest value of coercive field ∼1.78 kOe and saturation magnetization ∼2.38 emu g−1 for Ba and Ca doped BFO nanoparticles, respectively.

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