title: Photoinitiated growth of sub-7 nm silver nanowires within a chemically active organic nanotubular template.
abstract: Self-assembled supramolecular nanotubes of J-aggregated amphiphilic cyanine dye in aqueous solution are employed as chemically active templates for the photoinitiated formation of silver nanowires with a very small and homogeneous diameter of (6.4 +/- 0.5) nm. Key features of the template are (1) its small and well-defined diameter; (2) its photochemical activity, which allows photoinitiation of the structure formation; and (3) the processability in aqueous solution. The latter includes the potential to remove the template after the reaction, or to functionalize it further, e.g. with optoelectronically active polycations, providing access to quasi one-dimensional hybrid structures with well-defined metallic nanowires as a core.
authors.affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Physik, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Dörthe M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Eisele
authors.forename: Hans V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Berlepsch
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Böttcher
authors.forename: Keith J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Vanden Bout
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kirstein
authors.forename: Jürgen P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rabe
mesh_terms: D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000737:chemistry; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods; D008958:Models, Molecular; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D002232:Carbocyanines; D004396:Coloring Agents; D012834:Silver