Silver nanowire arrays with high aspect ratios have been prepared using potentiostatic
electrodeposition within the confined nanochannels of a commercial porous anodic
aluminium oxide template. The nucleation and growth processes are intensively studied by
current versus time transients. Scanning electron microscopy results show that the
nanowires have a highly anisotropic structure with diameters and lengths of 170 nm and
58 µm, respectively, which coincide with the dimensions of the template used. Structural
characterization using x-ray diffraction shows that the Ag nanowires are highly crystalline,
and those obtained at higher overpotentials present a very strong [220] preferred
crystallographic orientation. The optical properties of the silver nanowires embedded in the
alumina template show a clear edge close to 320 nm, that is an expected value for a
silver–alumina composite material.
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