Electrochemical synthesis of antimony nanowires and analysis of diffusion layers

Synthesis of an array of antimony nanowires was performed by electrodeposition within a porous polycarbonate membrane. The sizes of pores range from 30 to 400 nm in diameter and their densities vary from 2 x 10(+6) to 2 x 10(+9) pores/cm2. To obtain optimal conditions for nanowire preparation, plating behavior was investigated by a potentiostatic method with two types (continued or pulsed) of polarization. The chronoamperometry revealed that responses depend on the type of polarization and on the pore density of the membrane. With high-density membranes, the diffusion layers of each individual pore immediately overlap when they reach the external part of the membrane. This leads to an abrupt decrease of current intensity. This phenomenon is not observed with low-density membranes because of the greater distance between pores. This mechanism, which was investigated in antimony nanowire plating, is applicable to electrodeposition of other types of materials.