Abstract
Size distribution, Young’s moduli and electrical resistivity are investigated for CuO nanowires synthesized by different thermal oxidation methods. Oxidation in dry and wet air were applied for synthesis both with and without an external electrical field. An increased yield of high aspect ratio nanowires with diameters below 100 nm is achieved by combining applied electric field and growth conditions with additional water vapour at the first stage of synthesis. Young’s moduli determined from resonance and bending experiments show similar diameter dependencies and increase above 200 GPa for nanowires with diameters narrower than 50 nm. The nanowires synthesized by simple thermal oxidation possess electrical resistivities about one order of magnitude lower than the nanowires synthesized by electric field assisted approach in wet air. The high aspect ratio, mechanical strength and robust electrical properties suggest CuO nanowires as promising candidates for NEMS actuators.
Highlights
Metallic, semiconducting and insulating Cu based nanomaterials have been demonstrated and are well recognized materials in the fields of electronic devices and catalysis
We have investigated the electric field-assisted thermal oxidation of Cu foil to achieve a high yield growth of high aspect ratio CuO nanowires in conditions of wet air, and compared the properties of these nanowires with those synthesized by a simple thermal oxidation in dry air
CuO nanowires synthesized by a simple thermal oxidation and electric field assisted approach were investigated for different synthesis conditions
Summary
Metallic, semiconducting and insulating Cu based nanomaterials have been demonstrated and are well recognized materials in the fields of electronic devices and catalysis. Metallic nanowires of Cu have mostly been used for applications in flexible and transparent electrode materials. Semiconducting Cu-based nanowires, such as p-type CuO in particular, are commonly recognized as a catalyst material [4]. Nanowires of CuO have attracted broad interest in many applications including in sensors [5,6,7] and nanoelectronics (transistors [8,9], electric field emitters [10], memristors [11] and other), mainly due to their enhanced aspect ratio [12], achieved by using relatively simple and low cost synthesis. To achieve improved performance of these devices, more extensive studies of mechanical and electrical properties of the nanowires and the development of simple growth protocols to controllably achieve nanowires with required parameters are needed
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