Fabrication of Bi Nanowires Using a Vacuum Melting and Mechanical Injection Technique

A mechanical pressure injection technique has been developed to fabricate uniform metallic nanowires in the pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The AAO template was prepared from general purity aluminum by a two-step anodization followed by heat treatment to achieve highly ordered nanochannels. The nanowires were fabricated by an injection process using a hydraulic pressure method. A mold containing the AAO template and a metal foil was placed inside a vacuum chamber and heated up to the melting temperature of the given metal using a hot plate. The hot chamber was then removed from the hot plate and pressure was applied on the melt through the sliding column of the chamber, using a hydraulic jack to impregnate the molten metal into the nanochannels of the AAO. The nanowires were found to be dense and continuous with uniform diameter throughout their length. Diffraction experiment in the transmission electron microscope revealed that individual nanowires are single crystalline. This paper will present the fabrication process of the AAO template, and the fabrication of Bi nanowires as well as their characterization conducted using SEM, TEM, XRD and DSC.