Nanowire

What is nanowire?
Nanowire is a solid rod-shaped material or structure with a diameter on the order of nanometers. Similar to conventional wires, they are also made from semiconducting metal oxides, metals or carbon nanotubes. Due to their size, they have unique thermal, chemical, electronic, optical and mechanical properties that are not found in bulk solids and have their related fields of application.
Nanowire is manufactured under controlled conditions and can be manufactured using several processes such as vapor deposition, vapor-liquid synthesis and suspension. Nanowire can be metallic, insulating or semiconducting.

Nanowire has high flexibility and high strength and uniform morphology. Metallic nanowire has an increased magnetic coercive field strength compared to their massive counterparts. With regard to the thermoelectric properties, metallic nanowire shows a high seeback coefficient due to the increased density of electronic states. Thus it can conduct heat or electricity much higher than any other bulk material.

When it comes to electrical properties, the crystalline structure of the nanowire increases the electrical properties many times over. The large surface area of nanoparticles offers motivating catalytic properties for nanowires. Taking into account the optical properties, metallic nanowire shows a unique plasmon absorption effect. On-linear properties are also shown by nanowire arrays.

The unique capabilities and properties of nanowires hold promise for applications in various fields such as optics, electronics, and magnetism. The high aspect ratio, the high number of surface atoms and the improved surface-to-volume ratio make nanowires attractive for sensor applications such as nanosensors.

They are also used in small electronic circuits, transistors, storage devices, and quantum instruments. Nanowire is also used in the manufacture of nanoprobes and nanophotons.