Nano Express
Synthesis and electrical property of metal/ZnO coaxial nanocables
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, People's Republic of China
Nanoscale Research Letters 2012, 7:316 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-7-316
Published: 19 June 2012Abstract
Ag/ZnO and Cu/ZnO coaxial nanocables were fabricated using AgNO3 or copper foil as source materials by the vapor-liquid-solid process. The coaxial nanocables consist of a crystalline metallic Ag or Cu core and a semiconductor ZnO shell. The evolution of the Ag/ZnO products having different morphologies was investigated by stopping the heating at different temperatures. The diameters of the Ag/ZnO nanocables and the Ag cores could be modulated by changing Ag ratio in the source. The electrical characteristics of the Ag/ZnO contact and the influence of annealing reveal a Schottky diode behavior for a single Ag/ZnO nanocable device. The nanocables with uniform shape and controlled size are expected to provide a new choice in various applications of biological detection, nanothermometer, and photocatalysis.
