Low-temperature large-scale synthesis and electrical testing of ultralong copper nanowires.

Copper nanowires (NWs) with uniform diameters and lengths ranging from several hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers have been prepared with high yield by a simple hydrothermal procedure. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis data indicate that the copper nanowires are free of any contamination, while the electron diffraction (ED) analysis has revealed the nanowires to be single crystals. The nanowire growth mechanism has also been discussed. Hexadecylamine is the surface stabilizing agent in our method, while glucose facilitates formation of single-crystalline seeds on which the copper nanowires grow. The electrical properties of the as-synthesized copper NWs have also been investigated.