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Ion track, nanoporous membranes were employed as templates for the preparation of CdTe nanowires. For this purpose, electrochemical deposition from a bath containing Cd and Te ions was employed. This process leads to high aspect ratio CdTe nanowires, which were harvested and placed on a substrate with lithographically patterned, interdigitated electrodes. Focused ion beam-induced metallization was used to produce individual nanowires with electrical contacts and electrical measurements were performed on these individual nanowires. The influence of a bottom gate was investigated and it was found that surface passivation leads to improved transport properties.

Background: Multicomponent heterostructure nanowires and nanogaps are of great interest for applications in sensorics. Pulsed electrodeposition in ion-track etched polymer templates is a suitable method to synthesise segmented nanowires with segments consisting of two different types of materials. For a well-controlled synthesis process, detailed analysis of the deposition parameters and the size-distribution of the segmented wires is crucial.Results: The fabrication of electrodeposited AuAg alloy nanowires and segmented Au-rich/Ag-rich/Au-rich nanowires with controlled composition and segment length in ion-track etched polymer templates was developed. Detailed analysis by cyclic voltammetry in ion-track membranes, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy was performed to determine the dependency between the chosen potential and the segment composition. Additionally, we have dissolved the middle Ag-rich segments in order to create small nanogaps with controlled gap sizes. Annealing of the created structures allows us to influence their morphology.Conclusion: AuAg alloy nanowires, segmented wires and nanogaps with controlled composition and size can be synthesised by electrodeposition in membranes, and are ideal model systems for investigation of surface plasmons.

The combination of electrodeposition and polymeric templates created by heavy-ion irradiation followed by chemical track etching provides a large variety of poly- and single-crystalline nanowires of controlled size, geometry, composition, and surface morphology. Recent results obtained by our group on the fabrication, characterization and size-dependent properties of nanowires synthesized by this technique are reviewed, including investigations on electrical resistivity, surface plasmon resonances, and thermal instability.

In this work, the fabrication of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire networks is presented. By combining ion-track technology, electrochemical deposition, and atomic layer deposition, hierarchical and self-supporting three-dimensional (3D) networks of pure ZnO- and TiO2-coated ZnO nanowires were synthesized. Analysis by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed a highly crystalline structure of the electrodeposited ZnO wires and the anatase phase of the TiO2 coating. In photoelectrochemical measurements, the ZnO and ZnO/TiO2 nanowire networks, used as anodes, generated higher photocurrents compared to those produced by their film counterparts. The ZnO/TiO2 nanowire network exhibited the highest photocurrents. However, the protection by the TiO2 coatings against chemical corrosion still needs improvement. The one-dimensionality of the nanowires and the large electrolyte-accessible area make these 3D networks promising photoelectrodes, due to the improved transport properties of photogenerated charge carriers and faster redox reactions at the surface. Moreover, they can find further applications in e.g., sensing, catalytical, and piezoelectric devices.