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Published on: December 11, 2013
Coupled electrooxidation and electrical conduction in a single gold nanowire
Chengxiang Xiang1, Aleix G Güell, Matthew A Brown
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-2025, USA.
Nano Letters
|August 21, 2008
Summary
The resistance of gold nanowires increased significantly during electrooxidation due to gold oxide formation. This anomalous increase, exceeding predictions, suggests oxide infiltration at grain boundaries, impacting electrical properties.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Electrical resistance of materials is crucial for electronic applications.
- Nanowire properties can differ significantly from bulk materials.
- In situ measurements provide dynamic insights into material behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the in situ electrical resistance changes of gold nanowires during electrooxidation.
- To understand the mechanism behind the observed resistance increase.
- To correlate resistance changes with oxide formation and nanowire dimensions.
Main Methods:
- In situ electrical resistance measurements of single gold nanowires.
- Electrooxidation in aqueous sulfuric acid.
- Coulometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for oxide characterization.
- Varying nanowire dimensions (height and width).
Main Results:
- Electrooxidation formed a gold oxide layer (~0.8 ML) at +1.1 V vs MSE.
- Resistance increased by 14% to 57% depending on nanowire thickness.
- The resistance increase was reversible upon reduction, with minor gold dissolution.
- Observed resistance increase was four times higher than predicted by geometric and surface scattering effects.
Conclusions:
- Anomalous resistance increase in gold nanowires during electrooxidation is proposed to be caused by oxide infiltration at grain boundaries.
- This infiltration significantly impacts the electrical transport properties of gold nanowires.
- Understanding these mechanisms is vital for designing reliable nanowire-based devices.
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