Template-free electrochemical preparation of dendritic copper nanowire and its capacitor properties

Abstract

One-dimensional copper nanomaterials are expected to play important roles in fabricating nanoscale electronic devices. In this study, we show that the electro-reduction of copper compounds in water at room temperature produces dendritic copper nanowires in the presence of ammonia without using templates. The nanowires consist of a stalk part (500nm thick and 80μm long on average) and a branch part (250nm thick and 40μm long on average). Microanalyses revealed that the nanowires are mainly composed of metallic copper. A preliminary study of the electrochemical capacitor properties of the copper nanowire electrode demonstrated its specific capacitance of 117Fg−1.