Electrochemical synthesis of vertically aligned zinc nanowires using track-etched polycarbonate membranes as templates

Abstract

In the present paper, vertically aligned arrays of zinc nanowires were synthesized by electrochemical deposition into ion track-etched polycarbonate membranes in the ionic liquid electrolyte 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate ([EMIm]TfO)/Zn(TfO)2. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were performed to investigate the electrochemical growth of zinc nanowires inside of the membranes. The transport processes and mechanisms of the nanowire growth in the membranes are also discussed. A supporting zinc or copper layer was deposited on the sputtered side in order to make the back layer thick enough to stabilize the wires. Zinc nanowires with a diameter of 90 nm and a length of up to 18 μm were obtained after removing the template. Furthermore, short nanowires with lengths less than 5 μm and a sandwich-like structure with nanowires in the middle were also synthesized. Vertically aligned zinc nanowire structures on such a substrate might be a potential anode candidate for future generation lithium ion batteries.

Dendrite‐Free Nanocrystalline Zinc Electrodeposition from an Ionic Liquid Containing Nickel Triflate for Rechargeable Zn‐Based Batteries

“…[7] Thee lectrodeposition of zinc from ionic liquids has already been demonstrated [8] and the morphology of Zn deposits is strongly dependent on the structure of the ILs probably as ar esult of variations in the interfacial behavior of ILs. [8a] However,d endritic growth of Zn is still inevitable in ILs, [10] especially at elevated temperatures. [8a] However,d endritic growth of Zn is still inevitable in ILs, [10] especially at elevated temperatures.…”

“…Visually,t he deposit has ab lack appearance in the presence of Ni II ,w hereas as ilvergray zinc deposit is observed in the absence of Ni II (Figure S4). At low Ni contents (< 15 atom %), Zn-Ni alloys exhibit mainly h-phase and gphase.The h-phase has ahexagonal crystal structure with aNi content of less than 1%.T he g-phase has ab ody-centered cubic structure with the composition of Ni 5 Zn 21 (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). At low Ni contents (< 15 atom %), Zn-Ni alloys exhibit mainly h-phase and gphase.The h-phase has ahexagonal crystal structure with aNi content of less than 1%.T he g-phase has ab ody-centered cubic structure with the composition of Ni 5 Zn 21 (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Template‐Free Electrodeposition of Zinc Nanowires from an Ionic Liquid

“…Track-etched polycarbonate membranes wereu sed as templates for the electrodeposition of nanocrystalline zinc from Zn(TfO) 2 dissolved in an ionic liquid. [31] In this article, we reportt he template-free electrodepositiono fn anostructured zinc from an ionic liquid. For this purpose, zinc chloride was used as as ource of zinc ions in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethylsulfonate at 125 8C.…”

Vertically‐Oriented and Shape‐Tailored Electrocatalytic Metal Nanowire Arrays for Enzyme‐Free Galactosemia Rapid Diagnosis

“…The orientation is commonly obtained by external fields using a magnet . To obtain aligned NWs, polycarbonate membranes have been used as a template to electrodeposite metallic nanowires and then attached into a bare electrode as additional conductive support using pressure or with nafion as polielectrolytic glue . However, this approach present several disadvantages such as no electrode miniaturization, tedious polish procedures between experiments, and fragility of the electrode configurations due to the glue chemicals.…”