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Nanotechnology

Wires on water

Nature volume 425, pages 243–244 (2003)Cite this article

A centuries-old technique for transporting timber is the inspiration for a new method of assembling nanowires into large-scale, ordered patterns that could form the basis of a new generation of electronic devices.

What do logs and nanowires have in common? They are both essentially one-dimensional objects, their diameters insignificant compared with their length. Over the past few years, one-dimensional nanostructures (whether you call them nanowires, nanorods or nanowhiskers) have attracted much attention, and considerable progress has already been made in their synthesis and their application in devices3. A formidable challenge still to be faced, however, is the hierarchical organization of these nanoscale building-blocks into functional assemblies and, ultimately, useful systems. If nanowires could be aligned and arranged into patterns, the impact would be tremendous in many areas, from nanoscale electronics and optoelectronics to molecular sensing.

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Figure 1: Logging and 'nano-logging'.

B. ROWAN; PROGRESSIVE IMAGE/CORBIS

Figure 2

AAAS/AM. CHEM. SOC.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Peidong Yang

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  1. Peidong Yang
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Yang, P. Wires on water. Nature 425, 243–244 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/425243a

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