Electrodeposition of Copper and Silver Nanowires in Hierarchical Mesoporous Silica/Anodic Alumina Nanostructures

Abstract

Copper, silver, and tellurium nanowires were electrodeposited into a hierarchical channel structure formed from columnar silica mesophases inside of anodic alumina membranes. The resulting wires were structurally and spectroscopically characterized within the host matrix, in the partially dissolved matrix, and completely removed from the matrix with electron microscopy methods. Plan view images of wires featuring 10 nm diameter within the intact matrix showed the successful replication of the hexagonal arrangement of the columnar mesoporous system. Dissolving only the alumina while leaving the silica mesophase still intact, the long-range organization of the mesoporous system could be visualized. Finally, by completely dissolving the matrix (both alumina and silica), silver wires in the form of bundles of individual wires of about 10 nm diameter could be obtained.