Crystal Growth Orientation Research Articles

Polar axis oriented crystal growth induced carrier transport characteristics in non-degenerate zinc oxide thin films grown on glass substrates

Abstract The predominance of the methanol, ethanol, and 2-methoxyethanol solvents, with different boiling points and dielectric constants, are observed on the crystal growth orientation, optical behavior, carrier recombination, and carrier transport mechanism in sol-gel spin coated ZnO thin films. Multi-axis oriented crystal growth orientation was observed for methanol processed ZnO film as compared to that along c-axis only while using other solvents. The intensity of c-axis orientation, crystallite size as well as radiative recombination luminescence effects follows a direct (or inverse) relationship with the boiling point (or dielectric constant) of the involved solvent. Diverse nature of stress was seen for the films. Ideal band gap value (3.36 eV) was identified for 2-methoxyethanol processed oxygen defects induced stress free ZnO thin films. Time resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectra reveal a significant contribution of ultrafast and fast decay components in ethanol and methanol processed films as compared to the dominance of slow decay components in 2-methoxyethanol processed thin film. The temperature dependent electrical resistivity measurements unfold the coexistence of metallic and semiconducting behavior in all films. Dominant optical phonon scattering and piezoelectric scattering mechanisms provide metallic behavior to the films as confirmed by an increasing resistivity with increased temperature. The dominant grain boundary scattering mechanism controls the mobility of the carriers and results in the semiconducting behavior in all films at different values of higher temperatures. We have quantified the crystallite size induced band bending effect to understand the applicability of ZnO films in optoelectronic devices as well.

Synthesis of Cu,N-doped TiO2 nanotube by a novel magnetron sputtering method and its photoelectric property

Co-doped TiO2 were usually synthesized by chemical method, which need complex steps and easily cause secondary pollution and not suitable for TiO2 nanotube arrays preparation. In this study, Cu,N co-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays (Cu,N-TNT) are prepared by a novel magnetron sputtering method. The morphology, structure and physicochemical property of the nanotubes was analyzed by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS and UV–vis-DR. The results indicate that the evenly doped copper is beneficial to the transformation from anatase to rutile and play a key role in the morphology of the Cu,N-TNT. Cu and N doping in the TNT not only influence the growth orientation of the TiO2 crystals, but also cause lattice distortion and result in wider interplanar spacing. Increasing the copper content promotes the orientation of anatase (004) crystal plane. However, excess copper content for Cu,N-TNT samples inhibits the nanotubes growth. The nanotube with proper Cu,N doping has less band gap and strongest absorption intensity in visible region, which benefit its physicochemical property. This study provides a new method for co-doping of TiO2 nanotubes.

Structure and Properties of Piezoelectric Strontium Fresnoite Glass-Ceramics Belonging to the Sr–Ti–Si–Al–K–O System

Crystallization of strontium fresnoite Sr2TiSi2O8 piezoelectric crystals in Sr–Ti–Si–K–Al–O parent glasses is investigated with the aim of showing the influence of composition and crystallization conditions on the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of the resulting glass-ceramic. All the investigated conditions lead to a surface crystallization mechanism that induces a preferential orientation of crystal growth in the glasses. Near the surface, all the glass-ceramics obtained exhibit (002) planes preferentially oriented parallel to their faces. Deeper in the specimens, this preferential orientation is either kept or tilted to (201) after a depth of about 300 µm. The measurement of the charge coefficient d33 of the glass-ceramic highlights that surface crystallization induces mirror symmetry in the polarization. It reaches 11 to 12 pC/N and is not significantly influenced by the preferential orientation (002) or (201). High temperature XRD shows the stability of the fresnoite phase in the glass-ceramics up to 1000 °C. Mechanical characterization of the glass-ceramics by impulse excitation technique (IET) highlights that the softening of the residual glass leads to a progressive decrease of Young’s modulus in the temperature range 600–800 °C. Damping associated to the viscoplastic transition become severe only over 800 °C.

Study of inverted planar CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells fabricated under environmental conditions

Organic-inorganic inverted perovskite solar cells have been analyzed. This structure uses organic semiconductors as electron and hole selective electrodes and the perovskite as light harvesting layer. The anti-solvent deposition method is a frequently used techniques in the elaboration of conventional perovskite solar cells (FTO/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro-OMetad/Au). However, the anti-solvent method is seldom used in the inverted structure. In this work, we use the anti-solvent method to fabricate the perovskite film for solar cells in the ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH3NH3PbI3/PC61BM/Ag configuration, systematically studying the effect of the anti-solvent dripping time and the relative humidity in cell fabrication and performance. The morphological, optical and photovoltaic analyses indicate that the right combination of these two parameters will result in a preferential crystal growth in the (1 1 0) orientation. This allows the formation of homogeneous pinhole-free films that enhance light harvesting and reduce charge-carrier leakage, hence increasing short circuit current and fill factor to obtain a photo-conversion efficiency of about ∼10%.

Controlled Hydrothermal Synthesis of Bismuth Vanadate Nano-articulate Structures: Photooxidation of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Organic Dyes

Scheelite monoclinic bismuth vanadate nano-articulate crystals have been synthesized by using 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate as surfactant and ammonia as pH controlling agent at 180⁰C for 4 hr (at pH = 0, 1, 3, 6 and 8) under facile hydrothermal conditions. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). XRD and FE-SEM confirm the formation of monoclinic structures at all pH ranges and a preferential crystal growth (crystallite size 20-30 nm) has been observed along {040} facet with increase in NH4OH concentration. This selective growth resulted in structure enhanced performance of photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and bacterial inactivation. Photocatalytic inactivation of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and comparison of the results to the oxidation of Procion Red MX-5B, Alizarin Red S and Cibacron Brilliant Yellow 3G-P dyes using bismuth vanadates has been reported originally in this paper.

Damp Heat Durability of Al-Doped ZnO Transparent Electrodes with Different Crystal Growth Orientations

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent electrodes deposited by reactive sputtering are investigated to clarify the influences of crystal orientations on film durability. During the deposition, argon gas flow was varied from 3 to 60 sccm amidst fixed oxygen gas flow at 60 sccm. With increasing argon gas flow, the crystal orientations exhibit a major transition from (110) to (002). During damp heat test at 85% relative humidity and 85°C, the films with more variations in crystal orientations exhibit more decreased Hall mobility, while the films having crystal orientation (002) exhibit less reduced carrier concentrations. Conductivity degradation over time is monotonous with argon gas flow, and the tendency is more similar to reduced carrier concentrations rather than decreased mobility. It is suggested that the degradation differences among AZO films are rather caused by the effectiveness of major crystal orientation in protecting carrier concentrations.

Strain-induced crystal growth and molecular orientation of poly(isobutylene-isoprene) rubber at low temperatures.

With the combination of a low-temperature extension rheometer and in situ synchrotron radiation wide-angle X-ray diffraction (SR-WAXD), the strain-induced crystallization (SIC) of poly(isobutylene-isoprene) rubber (IIR) was studied in the low-temperature region (-60 °C → 25 °C). The detailed structural evolution of IIR during the SIC is summarized in the strain-temperature space, where three distinct temperature zones are defined. The absence of the SIC in zone I (T > 0 °C) results in the poorest drawability of IIR among all measured temperatures. And with respect to the lowest temperature zone III (-60 °C < T < -50 °C), the SIC still occurs with low ultimate crystallinity (ca. 0.9%). More complicated structural evolution induced by the strain occurs in the intermediate-temperature zone II (-50 °C ≤ T ≤ 0 °C). The orientation ratio of the amorphous part Oa increases monotonically with the increment of the strain, but reaches a platform with Hencky strain ε > ca. 1.8. Meanwhile, the strain-induced crystal growth of IIR is evidenced by the dramatic increment of the lateral crystallite size of (110) and (113) planes. Moreover, the retraction experiment further reveals the network evolutions of IIR: suffering from low ultimate crystallinity (<ca. 9%), the network chain of IIR remains in series upon fracture. The current study clarifies the contribution of the SIC and molecular orientation to the self-enhanced mechanical properties of IIR at low temperatures.

Rapid Crystallization for Efficient 2D Ruddlesden–Popper (2DRP) Perovskite Solar Cells

AbstractDue to the additional introduction of bulky organic ammonium and the competition between bulky organic ammonium and methyl ammonium in 2D Ruddlesden‐Popper (2DRP) perovskite, the crystallization process becomes complicated. Here, it is demonstrated that the rapid crystallization controlled by processing solvents plays an important role in achieving high‐quality 2DRP perovskite films. It is found that the processing solvents, e.g., dimethylacetamide (DMAC), N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), with a different polarity and boiling point, have almost no effect on crystal structure and phase distribution but have a remarkable effect on crystallization kinetics, crystal growth orientation, and crystallinity of 2DRP perovskite. Compared to polar aprotic solvent DMF and DMSO with a high boiling point, DMAC with low polarity and a suitable boiling point has a weak coordination to lead and ammonium salts and is easy to escape during solution processing, which is able to accelerate the crystallization rate of 2DRP perovskite. Benefitting from the rapid crystallization enabled high‐quality 2DRP perovskite films, the best‐performing device with improved stability and a power conversion efficiency of 12.15% is obtained using DMAC solvent. These findings may give guidance for solvent engineering for highly efficient 2DRP perovskite solar cells in the future.

Highly c-axis oriented crystal growth induced giant unusual saturable absorption behavior in wet chemically grown ZnO thin films

Wet-chemical sol-gel spin coating technique was considered to fabricate ZnO thin films on bare glass substrates with different thickness values (30 nm, 90 nm, 110 nm, 150 nm). The XRD reflections showed a transition from semi-polar crystal growth orientation to polar crystal growth orientation when the thickness was reduced to 30 nm. The nonlinear characteristics of prepared nano-films were quantized by performing open aperture and closed aperture Z-scan measurements under a continuous wavelength regime. The open aperture Z-scan transmittance curves showed a remarkable transition from normalized valley to normalized peak in 30 nm thick ZnO film. The presence of normalized valley and peak were attributed to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and saturable absorption (SA) behavior respectively. The RSA behavior was attributed to well known two-photon absorption (TPA) mechanisms and the SA behavior was due to the reduction in electron-hole wave function overlapping along c-axis. The closed aperture Z-scan measurement of 30 nm thick ZnO film revealed the violation of two parabolic band (TPB) and Kramer-Kronig relations by exhibiting self-focusing mechanism. The self-focusing mechanism was attributed to thermal effects due to the smaller thickness of ZnO. However, self-defocusing behavior was observed in 90 nm, 110 nm, and 150 nm thick ZnO films.

Chemical Decoration of Perovskites by Nickel Oxide Doping for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Crystal engineering of CH3NH3PbI3- xCl x perovskite films through modification by decoration with p-type semiconductor materials was proposed as an efficient method for obtaining good-quality crystalline films. A simple method is demonstrated to improve the quality of perovskite films by adding nickel oxide (NiO x) nanoparticles into the precursor solution. The addition of NiO x brings about high-quality crystals and convenient photo-generated charge transport with reduced defect density owing to efficient control of the preferred nucleation and crystal growth. The sufficient contact between CH3NH3PbI3- xCl x-NiO x and the electron-transport layer can contribute to photo-generated carrier lifetime and transport through the optimized interface. Moreover, it is demonstrated that a strong chemical bonding interaction between MAPbI3- xCl x and NiO x could protect perovskite materials from oxygen and humidity corrosion, showing remarkable stability holding ∼81% of the initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) after 50 days. The device with the best PCE of 19.34% is achieved because of the improved short-circuit current from 22.23 to 23.01 mA cm-2 and fill factor from 68.97 to 75.06%. The results certify that this p-type charge transport material decoration method for the optimization of perovskite films is an efficient way to optimize the performance.

Luminescent Ta doped WO3 thin films as a probable candidate for excitonic solar cell applications

Post-annealed undoped and Ta doped (doping concentration 1, 3, 5 and 7 wt%) WO3 thin films are prepared using RF magnetron sputtering technique. All the films are in monoclinic phase with 〈1 0 0〉 as the preferred crystal growth direction and show a nanostructured nature. The fabricated films have a smooth surface with densely packed grains. All the films show good optical transparency in the wavelength region 400−900 nm. Optical constants of the films are calculated from the transmittance and reflectance spectra. All the films show a broad blue emission corresponds to the indirect band to band transition in WO3 under UV excitation. The smooth pin hole free surface, good crystalline quality, moderate band gap energy and bright luminescence of the Ta doped WO3 thin films suggest the possibility of using this material as an energy barrier layer for performance enhancement in excitonic solar cells.

The influence of varied modulation ratios on crystallization and mechanical properties of nanoscale TiB2/Al2O3 multilayers

TiB2/Al2O3 multilayers with constant modulation periods and various modulation ratios ranging from 1:1 to 11:1 were synthesized on silicon wafer substrates by magnetron sputtering system. The amorphous structures of the TiB2/Al2O3 multilayers were characterized. The effect of modulation ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the multilayers was investigated. The results revealed that crystallization of amorphous sublayer, performance of hardness, elastic modulus and residual stress of the multilayers largely depended on variations of modulation ratios. The hardness and elastic modulus of TiB2/Al2O3 multilayers were up to the maximum value (30.6 GPa and 460.1 GPa) at modulation ratio of 7:1. Moreover, the practical adhesion had been also remarkably improved. Further analysis suggested that crystallization of amorphous sublayer (individual layer) was the primary cause for mechanical performance improvement of the multilayers. This work proved that the modulation ratio was a key role in controlling the growth orientation of crystals of nanoscale TiB2/Al2O3 multilayers at room temperature.

Dedoping of Lead Halide Perovskites Incorporating Monovalent Cations.

We report significant improvements in the optoelectronic properties of lead halide perovskites with the addition of monovalent ions with ionic radii close to Pb2+. We investigate the chemical distribution and electronic structure of solution processed CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite structures containing Na+, Cu+, and Ag+, which are lower valence metal ions than Pb2+ but have similar ionic radii. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals a pronounced shift in the main perovskite peaks for the monovalent cation-based films, suggesting incorporation of these cations into the perovskite lattice as well as a preferential crystal growth in Ag+ containing perovskite structures. Furthermore, the synchrotron X-ray photoelectron measurements show a significant change in the valence band position for Cu- and Ag-doped films, although the perovskite bandgap remains the same, indicating a shift in the Fermi level position toward the middle of the bandgap. Such a shift infers that incorporation of these monovalent cations dedope the n-type perovskite films when formed without added cations. This dedoping effect leads to cleaner bandgaps as reflected by the lower energetic disorder in the monovalent cation-doped perovskite thin films as compared to pristine films. We also find that in contrast to Ag+ and Cu+, Na+ locates mainly at the grain boundaries and surfaces. Our theoretical calculations confirm the observed shifts in X-ray diffraction peaks and Fermi level as well as absence of intrabandgap states upon energetically favorable doping of perovskite lattice by the monovalent cations. We also model a significant change in the local structure, chemical bonding of metal-halide, and the electronic structure in the doped perovskites. In summary, our work highlights the local chemistry and influence of monovalent cation dopants on crystallization and the electronic structure in the doped perovskite thin films.

Investigation of Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting for Mn-Doped In2O3 Film

Undoped and Mn-doped In2O3 films were prepared by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of Mn doping on the structural and optical properties of as-prepared films were investigated using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. Mn doping can enhance the intensity of (222) peak in Mn-doped In2O3 thin film, indicating Mn dopant promotes preferred orientation of crystal growth along (222) plane. XPS analyses revealed that the doped Mn ions exist at + 2 oxidation states, substituting for the In3+ sites in the In2O3 lattice. UV–Vis measurements show that the optical band gap Eg decreases from 3.33 to 2.87 eV with Mn doping in In2O3, implying an increasing sp–d exchange interaction in the film. Our work demonstrates a practical means to manipulate the band gap energy of In2O3 thin film via Mn impurity doping, and significantly improves the photoelectrochemical activity.

Preparation of calcium phosphate nanoparticles hybridized with europium(III) complex for novel luminescent organic-inorganic systems

We have synthesized novel inorganic–organic hybrid systems based on the interactions between calcium phosphate (CP) and tris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato)europium (III) (EuTH) complex to clarify the states of the EuTH molecules. We achieved the nucleation and crystal growth of electronically localized of EuTH molecules using two different synthetic processes (based on the timing of the addition EuTH before and after the CP nucleation stage). The coordination environment of the Eu3+ ion inside/on the hybrids was clearly changed, having the higher spatial symmetry states in the hybrid. The aspect ratios of the hybrid crystallites were 2.5–6.0, suggesting that the EuTH molecules selectively interacted with the a–plane of the CP nuclei to induce preferential crystal growth along with the uncovered c–plane. The segregated EuTH molecules on CP surfaces suppressed Ca2+ dissolution from the hybrids in phosphate buffer saline. In the excitation spectra of the hybrids, the 7F0 → 5L6 transition appeared as a result of the interaction between the EuTH and phosphate ions, suggesting that the phosphate ions affected the coordination environment. In the luminescence spectra of the hybrids, the luminescence intensity ratio of the magnetic dipole transition (5D0 → 7F1) to electric dipole transition (5D0 → 7F2) were higher than those of EuTH and the other Eu3+-doped inorganic systems. Thus, the higher spatial symmetry states of the Eu3+ ion in the hybrids resulted in greater luminescence intensities and quantum efficiencies, which would be affected by the phosphorus anti-quenching. In the future, CP hybrids with various organic complexes will be prepared, and these could be applied in the biomedical fields such as in bio-imaging and drug delivery systems.

Effect of Sm doping and annealing on magnetic and structural properties of sputter deposited SnO2 thin films

SmxSn1−xO2 thin films (with x = 0, 0.005, 0.02 and 0.04) were sputter deposited on Si (100) substrates and its physical properties were investigated. The as-deposited thin films were amorphous; however after electron beam rapid thermal annealing became polycrystalline tetragonal phase [JCPDS21-1250]. The preferred crystal growth orientation of the annealed thin films were along (101) plane, in contrast with its bulk where it is along (110) plane. However in both cases the crystallinity of SmxSn1−xO2 thin films reduced with increase in Sm dopant concentration. The annealed thin films showed continuous grain distribution, with linear increase in grain size from ∼12 to ∼52 nm with increase in Sm dopant concentration. Maximum magnetization of 0.031 emu was observed in annealed Sm0.04Sn0.96O2 thin film. The observed weak ferromagnetism in the thin films could have originated from the induced oxygen vacancies through Sm substitution and electron beam rapid thermal annealing in high vacuum. It was also observed that the optical absorption of doped SnO2 thin films (in 300 to 800 nm range) decreased by Sm doping. These observations suggest that Sm doped SnO2 thin films can be potentially used for dilute magnetic semiconductor and solar cell application.

Effect on the electrical and morphological properties of Bi incorporation into ZnO:Ga and ZnO:Al thin films deposited by confocal magnetron sputtering

This paper reports the effect on the electrical and morphological properties of co-doping ZnO thin films with Bi and Al or Ga. To do so, a confocal sputtering geometry was used with a Bi target and two intrinsically doped ZnO:Ga and ZnO:Al targets. By depositing at an intentional heating of 200 °C and applying a post-deposition thermal treatment at 350 °C and 300 °C, for ZnO:Ga,Bi and ZnO:Al,Bi, respectively, electrical resistivity values of 1.3 × 10−3 Ω cm and 4.8 × 10−4 Ω cm were achieved, with an optical transmittance above 80%. The X-ray diffraction data shows that all doped ZnO films have a wurtzite hexagonal structure with preferential crystal growth perpendicular to the (002) plane. The Seebeck coefficient was measured for the ZnO:Al,Bi films, where a maximum value of −48 μV K−1 was registered. The optimized electrical properties were correlated with the preferential crystalline texture along [001] and the corresponding current density applied to the Bi dopant target, J(Bi). ZnO:Al,Bi films present out-of-plane compression stress, which concomitantly increases with J(Bi), due to higher compact volume of unit cell with lower lattice parameter c when compared with the undoped ZnO. By controlling the incorporation of Bi, the deposition temperature and the post-deposition thermal treatment temperature, improvements on the thermoelectric power factor of ZnO:Ga and ZnO:Al thin films can be achieved.

Synthesis and characterisation of a novel bilayer tungsten trioxide nanojunction with different crystal growth orientation for improved photoactivity under visible light irradiation

The main aim of this study was to prove the concept and elucidate the effect of a bilayer tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanojunction with different crystal growth orientation for improved photoactivity under visible light irradiation. For the first time, the concept of a bilayer WO3 nanojunction with different crystal growth orientation was demonstrated. A layer-by-layer assembly for the bilayer WO3 nanojunction with the same monoclinic ɣ-WO3 crystal structure, but with two different crystal growth orientation of {002} at 600 °C and {200} at 500 °C was synthesized via the controlled electrodeposition-annealing method. Photocurrent measurements showed that the individual photoactivity of WO3 thin film with {002} crystal growth orientation was higher than that of WO3 thin film with {200} crystal growth orientation, while the bilayer WO3 nanojunction with different crystal growth orientation exhibited the highest photoactivity. To further characterise the bilayer WO3 nanojunction, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and photocurrent density measurements were performed. Based on the findings, a theoretical postulation model was proposed in explaining the transfer of photogenerated charge carriers in bilayer WO3 nanojunction that leads to improved photoactivity under visible light irradiation.

Role of defect states on nonlinear properties of 8 MeV electrons irradiated zinc oxide thin films under off-resonant regime

In the present work, ZnO thin films were synthesized by sol-gel with subsequent spin coating on corning glass substrates. To understand the variations in the structural, optical, and nonlinear optical properties of ZnO thin films, 8 MeV electron irradiation with different dose rates (0 kGy, 1 kGy, 5 kGy, and 10 kGy) was performed. The XRD spectra showed transition from polar crystal growth orientation to non-polar crystal growth orientation of the films when the irradiation dose rate was increased from 0 kGy to 10 kGy and this was attributed to the reduced thickness of the irradiated films. The generation of localized surface states below the conduction band upon electron irradiation was confirmed by the quantification of the Urbach energy. A large band gap shrinkage was observed in the irradiated films (3.31–3.10 eV) due to the enhanced surface states. The photoluminescence spectra showed reduction in the NBE emission due to the enhanced surface states in the irradiated films. Open aperture and closed aperture Z-scan measurements were performed to extract the nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) and nonlinear refractive index (n2) values using 532 nm Nd:YAG laser having pulse width of 7 ns. The open aperture Z-scan profiles of the films showed the presence of normalized transmittance valley, which was attributed to the two photon absorption (TPA) behaviour. The reduction in the depth of the normalized transmittance valley in irradiated films was ascribed to the bleaching of carriers in the ground states due to their trapping in the defect states. The closed aperture Z-scan curves showed the presence of normalized pre-focal peak, followed by a valley, which is characteristic of the self-defocusing nonlinear refraction behaviour. The electron irradiation with different dose rates provided an opportunity to understand the variations in the optoelectronic properties of the ZnO thin films considering the various defect states generated upon irradiation.

Air-Stable Anisotropic Monocrystalline Nickel Nanowires Characterized Using Electron Holography.

Nickel is capable of discharging electric and magnetic shocks in aerospace materials thanks to its conductivity and magnetism. Nickel nanowires are especially desirable for such an application as electronic percolation can be achieved without significantly increasing the weight of the composite material. In this work, single-crystal nickel nanowires possessing a homogeneous magnetic field are produced via a metal-organic precursor decomposition synthesis in solution. The nickel wires are 20 nm in width and 1-2 μm in length. The high anisotropy is attained through a combination of preferential crystal growth in the ⟨100⟩ direction and surfactant templating using hexadecylamine and stearic acid. The organic template ligands protect the nickel from oxidation, even after months of exposure to ambient conditions. These materials were studied using electron holography to characterize their magnetic properties. These thin nanowires display homogeneous ferromagnetism with a magnetic saturation (517 ± 80 emu cm-3), which is nearly equivalent to that of bulk nickel (557 emu cm-3). Nickel nanowires were incorporated into carbon composite test pieces and were shown to dramatically improve the electric discharge properties of the composite material.