Highly ordered monocrystalline silver nanowire arrays

Highly ordered silver nanowire arrays have been obtained by pulsed electrodeposition in self-ordered porous alumina templates. Homogeneous filling of all the pores of the alumina template is achieved. The interwire distance is about 110 nm corresponding to a density of silver nanowires of 61×109 in.−2 and the diameter can be varied between 30 and 70 nm. The silver wires are monocrystalline with some twin lamella defects and grow perpendicular to the 〈110〉 direction. The previously encountered difficulty to obtain 100% filling of the alumina pores is discussed in the framework of electrostatic instabilities taking into account the different potential contributions during electrodeposition. To obtain homogeneously filled pore membranes, a highly conductive metal containing electrolyte, a homogeneous aluminum oxide barrier layer, and pulsed electrodeposition are a prerequisite.