Electrochemical synthesis of Ag(0)/A2S heterojunctions templated on pre-formed Ag2S nanowires.

Hybrid metal/ionic conductor nanostructures are of considerable interest due to their potential use as resistive switches, and are envisioned as the next generation of memory devices. We present here the electrochemical conversion of ionic and semi-conducting Ag(2)S nanowires (NW) into a range of hybrid nanostructures. Partial electrochemical reduction of Au/Ag(2)S NW/Au junctions allows one to form Ag(0) NW/Ag(2)S NW and Ag(0) NW/Ag(2)S NW/Ag(0) NW heterojunctions. Control over the quantity of Ag(0) NW within the junctions is presented along with its influence on the conductivity of the junctions. We demonstrate the use of this technique to make functional Au/Ag(0) NW/Ag(2)S NW/Au resistive switches.