Molybdenum Nanowires by Electrodeposition

Abstract

Metallic molybdenum (Mo(o)) wires with diameters ranging from 15 nanometers to 1.0 micrometers and lengths of up to 500 micrometers (0.5 millimeters) were prepared in a two-step procedure. Molybdenum oxide wires were electrodeposited selectively at step edges and then reduced in hydrogen gas at 500 degrees C to yield Mo(o). The hemicylindrical wires prepared by this technique were self-uniform, and the wires prepared in a particular electrodeposition (in batches of 10(5) to 10(7)) were narrowly distributed in diameter. Wires were obtained size selectively because the mean wire diameter was directly proportional to the square root of the electrolysis time. The metal nanowires could be embedded in a polystyrene film and lifted off the graphite electrode surface. The conductivity and mechanical resiliency of individual embedded wires were similar to those of bulk molybdenum.

Face the Edges: Catalytic Active Sites of Nanomaterials

“…For instance, metal nanowire212 or metal oxide nanowire213 can be deposited at the edges of graphite instead of on the basal plane. However, direct test of edge is of extremely difficult because of the obstacle to fabricate electrode on edges and nearly inevitable interference of basal plane.…”

Identifying and counting point defects in carbon nanotubes

“…Because SWNT defect sites are more reactive than the pristine sp 2 -bonded lattice, appropriate deposition potentials can decorate these sites with high selectivity. Previous research on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) has proven the general principle of SED [15][16][17] . Each step edge on a HOPG surface constitutes a line of chemical defects, and by decorating these defects continuous, millimeter-length nanowires may be grown using a variety of metals 17 .…”

Electrodeposition of gold templated by patterned thiol monolayers

“…Provided the grafted layer can be made of a quality that renders the substrate electrochemically passive the deposition will then take place in the areas of the exposed graphite surface. This strategy would extent the previously demonstrated principle of electrodeposition at graphite steps and subsequent transfer [15] to freely definable patterns.…”

“…However, the effort required to generate them represents a bottleneck and might even become prohibitive for the routine generation of small scaled structures. A solution to this dilemma is the templated deposition using a reusable master pattern followed by a transfer of the structure to another substrate [14][15][16][17][18]. Patterning can either be achieved by a topographic pattern [16,19] or by a selective deposition onto a flat substrate.…”