Characterization of iron nanowires fabricated by electrodeposition into polycarbonate template

Abstract

In the present study, commercially available polycarbonate (PC) membranes with different pore diameters were used as a template for electrodeposition of iron nanowires. The iron nanowire forests with average diameters ranging from 125 to 800 nm and several microns in length have been fabricated by reduction of metal ions into the nano-channels of PC templates. The morphology and microstructure of the iron nanowire forests have been characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The SEM results revealed that iron nanowires have a straight and cylindrical shape. TEM studies revealed a polycrystalline nature for the nanowires. These results showed that the iron nanowires prepared by PC templates are long-term promising candidates for the investigation of the size effect dependence of their properties.