Position-selective growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and vertically aligned CNTs (VACNTs) on patterned metal were prepared using thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD) and direct current (DC) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. We propose a new position-controlling method of CNTs by controlling not only the position of Ni as a catalyst, but also the morphology of Mo as an underlayer for the catalysts. Selective growth of CNTs was achieved at the edges of the patterned metal using TCVD. The minimum width of selectively grown CNTs, approximately 2.6 μm, was approximately one-eightieth that of the patterned metal, 200 μm. The VACNTs were synthesized using the PECVD method, but the VACNTs grew throughout the patterned metal. A position-controlled method of CNT growth was demonstrated in optimum conditions of the TCVD.

A template-based, electroless wet-chemical method for synthesis of nanotubes and nanowires of nanocrystalline anatase titanium oxide (titania) at 45 °C is reported. Single-nanowire electrical property measurements reveal low dc resistivities (7–21 × 10−4 Ω cm) in these titania nanowires. In the presence of 1000 parts per million of CO gas at 100 °C, the resistivity is found to increase reversibly, indicating low-temperature gas-sensing capability in these titania nanowires. Thin films of nanocrystalline anatase titania, deposited using a similar wet-chemical method, also have low room-temperature dc resistivities (6–8 × 10−3 Ω cm), and they are transparent to visible light. Nanostructure-properties relations, together with possible electrical conduction, optical absorption, and gas-sensing mechanisms, are discussed. The ability to fashion transparent-conducting and gas-sensing nanocrystalline anatase titania into nanotubes/nanowires and thin films at near-ambient conditions could open a wider field of applications for titania, including nanoelectronics, chemical sensing, solar cells, large-area windows and displays, invisible security circuits, and incorporation of biomolecules and temperature-sensitive moieties.

Single-crystal MoO3 nanowires were produced using the electrospinning technique. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that the one-dimensional nanostructures are 10–50 nm in diameter, on the order of 1–2 μm in length, and have the orthorhombic MoO3 structure. The structure, crystallinity, and sensoric character of these electrostatically processed nanowires are discussed. It has been demonstrated that the nonwoven network of MoO3 nanowires exhibits an order of magnitude higher sensitivity compared with that of a sol-gel based sensor. This is promising for use of the nanowire sensors in nanomedicine.

Electrochemically grown cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanorod arrays were studied with Raman spectroscopy. The resonant Raman spectroscopy unravels the enhanced electron-phonon interaction up to the fifth-order multiphonon process in the vertically aligned CdS nanorods after annealing. Resonant Raman scattering at room temperature reveals a surface phonon mode at 253 cm−1 in the annealed nanorod. This unprecedented observation is accounted for by the lateral confinement in the nanorod whose average aspect ratio is approximately 5. An intersubband transition near 3000 cm−1 is also observed. These results point to important optoelectronic applications of this material.

Carbon nanotubes are interesting for studying the remarkable electronic properties of one-dimensional (1D) quantum systems. Electron flow in such systems is not described by Fermi liquid theory—restricted dimensionality leads to the appearance of collective excitations—or Luttinger liquid behavior. Previous studies have probed Luttinger liquid behavior by tunneling into or between one-dimensional systems. We propose to extend these studies by using narrow top gates to introduce tunable tunnel barriers within nanotubes. We report on the scalable fabrication of carbon nanotube-based transistors with nanowire top gates. We have used electron-beam lithography (EBL) to create single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) transistors with source-drain spacings down to 200 nm and with sub-30 nm metal top gates for creating tunable tunnel barriers. The top metal gate is isolated from the nanotube by a thin aluminum oxide layer deposited by atomic layer deposition. We fabricated chips with 100 devices using multiple electron-beam lithography alignment steps and achieved overall placement better than 30 nm. The details of top-gated SWNT transistor fabrication are presented, and initial transport measurements on fabricated devices are discussed.

The bonding strength of a carbon nanofiber array (CNFA) grown on a copper substrate is evaluated based on the measured shearing force-at-failure and the developed analytical stress model that enables one to determine the magnitude and the distribution of the interfacial shearing stress causing the measured (given) shearing force. The experiment is conducted using specially designed test specimens. A table version of the Instron tester is used to measure the applied force and the corresponding displacement in shear. The maximum predicted shear-off stress is about 300 psi (0.211 kgf/m2), and was determined, based on the developed stress model, as a product of the measured 5 kgf/m force at the interface failure and the computed parameter k = 0.0422 m–1 of the interfacial shearing stress.

An eight-band k·p theory that does not suffer from the spurious solution problem is demonstrated. It is applied to studying the electronic properties of InP and InAs free-standing nanowires. Band gaps and effective masses are reported as a function of size, shape, and orientation of the nanowires. We compare our results with experimental work and with other calculations.

Unique nanowire growth was accomplished at 575 °C by the metal-induced growth (MIG) method. This involved a spontaneous reaction between metal and Si. The deposited metal worked as a catalyst layer to grow nanowires in the solid state. Various metals (Ni, Co, and Pd) were used in MIG nanowire fabrication, and the Ni-induced case was successful in demonstrating that metal species should be the dominant factor for growing nanowires. The Ni to Si composition was studied by energy dispersive spectroscopy showing the Ni diffusion inside the nanowire as well as the Ni silicide layer. The practical application of the MIG nanowire was proved by fabricating nanoscale contacts.

Bismuth titanate (Bi2Ti2O7) nanotubes were successfully synthesized with an alumina template-based sol-gel technique. As-synthesized nanotubes are smooth and uniform with diameters ranging from 180 to 330 nm and lengths varying from 7 to 12 μm. Extensive characterization of as-prepared samples has been performed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). Photocatalytic studies indicate that as-prepared nanotubes possess higher photocatalytic activity than the corresponding bulk sample prepared without the use of an alumina template.

We developed a methodology for the evaluation of the effective Young's modulus (EYM) of the vertically aligned carbon nanofibers array (CNFA). The carbon nanofibers array is treated in this study as a continuous structural element, and, for this reason, the determined EYM might be appreciably different (actually, lower) than the Young's modulus (YM) of the material of an individual carbon nanotube or a nanofiber. The developed methodology is based on the application of a compressive load onto the carbon nanofibers array, so that each individual carbon nanofiber experiences axial compression and is expected to buckle under the compressive load. The relationship between the applied compressive stress and the induced displacement of the carbon nanofiber array is measured using a table version of an Instron tester. It has been found that the carbon nanofiber array exhibits nonlinear behavior and the EYM increases with an increase in the compressive load. The largest measured EYM of the carbon nanofiber array turned out to be about 90 GPa. It has been found also that the fragmentary pieces of lateral graphitic layer in the carbon nanofiber array resulted in substantial worsening of the quality of the carbon nanofibers. This might be one of the possible reasons why the measured EYM turned out to be much lower than the theoretical predictions reported in the literature. The measured EYM is also much lower than the reported in the literature atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based data for the EYM for multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) that possess uniform and straight graphitic wall structure. Our transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations have revealed indeed poor structural qualities of the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) grown CNFs.

Iron-oxide nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal treatment of Fe(OH)3 dispersion in NaOH. The obtained materials were first structurally investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis techniques. Their magnetic properties were then examined by superconducting quantum interference device and electron paramagnetic resonance methods. A typical nanowire measured 10–15 nm in diameter and 600 nm in length. All the structural and magnetic investigations were consistent with the nanowire goethite structure. The nanowire Neél transition temperature occurred at 375 K; i.e., it was lowered by 25 K with respect to the corresponding goethite bulk value. The shift in the ordering temperature was suggested to be a consequence of a growing importance of strains and surface effects at the nanoscale. We were also able to irreversibly convert goethite nanowires into hematite, by warming the sample to temperatures exceeding 530 K.