Electrochemical synthesis of gallium nanowires and macroporous structures in an ionic liquid

The electrochemical synthesis of gallium nanostructures in an ionic liquid is presented. Gallium nanowires and macroporous structures were synthesized by the template-assisted electrodeposition in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([Py(1,4)]TFSA) containing GaCl(3) as the precursor. Track-etched polycarbonate membranes with an average pore diameter of 90 nm and a thickness of 21 μm were used as templates for the nanowire synthesis. Ga nanowires with a length of more than 4 μm and an average diameter corresponding to that of the template's pores were easily obtained by this method. Macroporous structures with an average pore diameter of 600 nm were obtained by the electrochemical deposition of Ga inside polystyrene colloidal crystal templates and the subsequent removal of the template by THF. The macroporous deposit showed a granular morphology with smallest grain sizes of about 40 nm and light reflections. The nanostructures of Ga were characterized by HR-SEM and EDX analysis.