A significant electron-beam induced heating effect is demonstrated for liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy at low electron flux densities using Au nanoparticles as local nanothermometers. The obtained results are in agreement...

A new in situ synthesis method for the growth of MoO2 nanowires via the controlled thermal oxidation of MoS2 flakes is presented and the electrical, field emission and mechanical properties of single nanowires are studied.

diodes, [3] electromagnetic shielding, [4] and organic photovoltaics. [5] Electrodes based on metallic nanowires (NWs) are among the most promising alternatives to indium tin oxide (ITO), which is currently the most efficient and widely used transparent conducting material. [6] Silver, the metal with the highest electrical conductivity, can be expected to provide the best network electrodes. [7] Indeed, silver nanowires (Ag NWs)-based percolating networks successfully combine high flexibility, high optical transparency, and high electrical conductivity. [8] Ag NWs electrode are also cost-efficient and compatible with large-scale manufacturing methods. [5a] However, they are very vulnerable to heat, light, oxygen, humidity, and sulfidation, limiting their usefulness for practical applications. [9] Solutions to these problems have been investigated and various methods were applied to protect the Ag NWs. [10] Recently, a SnO x shell was proposed as a solution to overcome the stability issues. [11] Zhao et al. reported the wet chemical synthesis of Ag NWs with a monolayer of SnO 2 under ambient conditions. [11a] This is achieved by introducing trace amounts of Sn 2+ to an Ag NWs dispersion, which form an oxide monolayer. This Transparent electrodes consisting of silver nanowires (Ag NWs) are a solution-processed alternative to commonly used indium tin oxide electrodes. Here, Ag NW electrodes protected by a tin oxide (SnO x ) are explored and unprecedented thermal stability is found. While unprotected Ag NW electrodes fail at 250 °C, the SnO x Ag NW electrodes remain stable for 40 h at 250 °C and withstand high temperatures up to 500 °C for short times. First, an optimized method of synthesis that provides uniform Ag NWs with high reproducibility is used. Afterward, a SnO x shell is formed in a wet chemical reaction. Fabrication of highly conductive electrodes requires thermal annealing at 300 °C for 5 min under ambient atmosphere. Electrodes with a sheet resistance as low as 20 Ω sq -1 and visible transmittance of 84% are demonstrated. It is shown that a ≈2 nm thick SnO x shell effectively protects the Ag NWs in a temperature range between 200 and 500 °C, whereas unprotected Ag NWs suddenly fail at temperatures beyond 200 °C. It is strongly anticipated that these improvements in the stability of Ag NWs open a large field of further investigations and applications.The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202100787.

Size effects decisively influence the properties of materials at small length scales. In the context of mechanical properties, the trend of ‘smaller is stronger’ has been well established. This statement refers to an almost universal trend of increased strength with decreasing size. A strong influence of size on the elastic properties has also been widely reported, albeit without a clear trend. However, the influence of nanostructure shape on the mechanical properties has been critically neglected. Here, we demonstrate a profound influence of shape and size on the elastic properties of materials on the example of gold nanowires. The elastic properties are determined using in-situ mechanical testing in scanning and transmission electron microscopy by means of resonance excitation and uniaxial tension. The combination of bending and tensile load types allows for an independent and correlative calculation of the Young's modulus. We find both cases of softening as well as stiffening, depending critically on the interplay between size and shape of the wires. Graphic abstract

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