Electric field-assisted deposition of nanowires on carbon nanotubes for nanoelectronics and sensor applications.
Manipulation and control of matter at the nanoscale and atomic scale levels are crucial for the success of nanoscale sensors and actuators. The ability to control and synthesize multilayer structures using carbon nanotubes that will enable the building of electronic devices within a nanotube is still in its infancy. In this paper, we present results on selective electric field-assisted deposition of metals on carbon nanotubes realizing metallic nanowire structures. Silver and platinum nanowires have been fabricated using this approach for their applications in chemical sensing as catalytic materials to sniff toxic agents and in the area of biomedical nanotechnology for construction of artificial muscles. Electric field-assisted deposition allows the deposition of metals with a high degree of selectivity on carbon nanotubes by manipulating the charges on the surface of the nanotubes and forming electrostatic double-layer supercapacitors. Deposition of metals primarily occurred due to electrochemical reduction, electrophoresis, and electro-osmosis inside the walls of the nanotube. SEM and TEM investigations revealed silver and platinum nanowires between 10 nm and 100 nm in diameter. The present technique is versatile and enables the fabrication of a host of different types of metallic and semiconducting nanowires using carbon nanotube templates for nanoelectronics and a myriad of sensor applications.
Sivakumar
Kousik
K
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Panchapakesan
Balaji
B
D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004559:Electric Wiring; D004563:Electrochemistry; D004581:Electronics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008956:Models, Chemical; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010984:Platinum / Q000737:chemistry; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry; D046590:Spectroscopy, Electron Energy-Loss; D055672:Static Electricity
D008670:Metals; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D012834:Silver; D010984:Platinum