Perovskite Oxide Wires

Abstract

CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS Transition metal oxides with a cubic perovskite structure display a range of interesting and desirable properties such as piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity, and magnetoresistance. Although most studies have been of thin films or bulk single crystals, preparation of these materials in a one-dimensional form, like their silicon- and carbon-nanowire counterparts, could widen the range of properties and applications. Using a solution-based process, Urban et al. report the ability to prepare barium titanate and strontium titanate nanowires with diameters ranging from 5 to 60 nanometers and lengths in excess of 10 millimeters. Yun et al. report on the ability to write and read ferroelectric bits along these barium titanate nanowires using an atomic force microscope. Measuring just 10 nm by 10 nm and with a retention time greater than 5 days, these ferroelectric bits may provide the basis for a nonvolatile memory element with high information-storage density. — ISO J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 10.1021/ja017694b; Nano Lett. , 10.1021/nl015702g.