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2012
Journal Article
Titel
Dielectrophoretic growth of platinum nanowires: Concentration and temperature dependence of the growth velocity
Abstract
The growth velocity of platinum nanowires in an aqueous solution of K 2PtCl 4 is investigated as a function of the metal complex concentration and temperature. The solution is specially prepared to provide mainly the neutral complex cis-[PtCl 2(H 2O) 2] for growing nanowires by dielectrophoresis. The measured growth velocities indicate diffusion-limited nanowire growth at low concentration and high temperature in qualitative agreement with a theoretical analysis that includes the diffusion of metal complexes and the dielectrophoretic force on the complexes. At concentrations greater than 100 M and low temperature, different behavior is observed, suggesting the growth rate to be limited by the deposition reaction of platinum at the nanowire tip. The enhancement of the K + concentration is found to support nanowire growth. Possible reasons for a rate limitation and for the difference between observed and calculated nanowire growth velocities are discussed.