Preparation of ultrathin nanowires using superfluid helium droplets

Direct preparation of long one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures with diameters <10 nm inside superfluid helium droplets is reported. Unlike conventional chemical synthetic techniques, where stabilizers, templates, or external fields are often required to induce 1D growth, here, we exploit the use of quantized vortices to guide the formation of ultrathin nanowires. A variety of elements have been added to the droplets to demonstrate that this is a general phenomenon, including Ni, Cr, Au, and Si. Control of the length and diameter of the nanowires is also demonstrated.