Silver nano-inukshuks on germanium

The integration of metallic nanostructures with semiconductors is important for a variety of technological applications. Through an efficient galvanic displacement reaction on germanium, complex silver nanostructures form spontaneously in aqueous conditions at room temperature. The structures, termed nano-inukshuks, are based on stacks of hexagonal metallic structures that grow, initially, parallel to the surface normal of the germanium. TEM, SEM, XPS, XRD, and EDS indicate that the structures are crystalline silver and, based on open cell potential studies, that their nucleation takes place in the first 100 s, followed by growth of the silver structures, most likely through Volmer-Weber growth.