Silicon splits: The application of silicon to water oxidation is limited due to unfavorable interface properties. However, these can be circumvented by using a high-performance silicon photoanode with a catalytically active iron oxide thin film (see picture). This approach results in photocurrents as high as 17 mA cm(-2) under 1 sun and zero overpotential conditions.

Functional three dimensional (3D) nanowire structures are possible candidates for future high density and high performance devices. Unfortunately, few methods are known for manipulating nanowires into arbitrary 3D structures, which can be essential for creating a fully general class of devices. In this article, the authors describe a method to fabricate complex 3D nanowire structures by focused ion beam assisted bending. The authors suggest that the stresses induced by beam irradiation account for the bending. By controlling parameters, it was demonstrated that various bending structures may be constructed either on the fly or programmable.

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