Synthesis, structural characterization, and electronic structure of single-crystalline Cu(x)V2O5 nanowires.

Single-crystalline copper vanadium oxide nanowires beta'-Cu(x)V(2)O(5) (x approximately 0.60) have been synthesized by the hydrothermal reduction of bulk CuV(2)O(6) using small-molecule aliphatic alcohols as reducing agents. The prepared copper vanadium bronze nanowires are metallic in nature and exhibit aspect ratios as high as 300. The recent discovery of superconductivity and charge disproportionation in bulk beta'-Cu(x)V(2)O(5) has led to renewed interest in these one-dimensional metallic systems. Scaling these systems to nanoscale dimensions offers the potential for further tunability of electronic transport and Li-ion intercalation kinetics. A combination of spectroscopic and electrical measurement methods has been used to provide evidence for the metallic nature and the presence of room-temperature charge disproportionation in these nanowires.