Lead Selenide Nanowires Prepared by Lithographically Patterned Nanowire Electrodeposition

Abstract

We describe the electrochemical deposition of lead selenide (PbSe) nanowire arrays by the lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition (LPNE) method. The nanowires were electrodeposited using a constant potential method from an aqueous solution containing Pb2+ and HSeO3− at room temperature onto an electrode that had been photopatterned in unfiltered laboratory air. The resulting polycrystalline nanowires were stoichometric, face-centered cubic PbSe and had a rectangular cross section with lengths > 1 mm, widths between 80 and 600 nm, and heights between 40 and 80 nm. The synthesized nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrical resistivity of the nanowires is comparable to that of other PbSe nanowires.