There are two well-known synthetic approaches for copper nanowires (CuNWs): ethylenediamine (EDA)-mediated synthesis and alkylamine-mediated synthesis. The alkylamine-mediated synthesis produces very high aspect ratio nanowires but requires an autoclave for high-pressure environments, and a long reaction time, which normally is above 12 hours. The EDA-mediated synthesis can be carried out under normal conditions and requires 30 min. The CuNWs produced by this method have an average aspect ratio lower than 1000 and are produced in a lower yield. In this paper, the researchers present a modified EDA-mediated synthesis to improve the yield and reduce the synthesis time. When NaOH and Cu(NO3)2 were replaced with KOH and CuCl2, respectively and the reaction temperature was kept at room temperature, the synthesis time was shortened to 15 min. Moreover, the aspect ratio of the as-synthesized Cu NWs increased to 650 and the synthesis yields raised from 17.73% to 80.16%.
A study of super-hydrophobic surface originated from the analysis of lotus leaf in the nature and fabrication method of super-hydrophobic surface on copper substrate has been researched for, showed functional surfaces with anti-corrosion. However, since copper nanowires decomposed during thiol coating, it is necessary to reseach on the relation with morphology of copper nanowires and thiol coating time. In this study, the research is all about the effect of thiol coating time on wettability of copper nanowires surface. Copper hydroxide nanowires were made up by oxidation using dipping method and a polymer layer was formed on nanowires using thiol coating. Surface characteristics were assessed using scanning electron microscopy and liquid contact angles. The conclusion showed relation for wettability of thiol coated copper hydroxide nanowires with thiol coating time and proposed method would be favorable for anti-corrosion functional surface.
This paper introduces a facile method to enhance the functionality of a patterned metallic transparent conductor through selective laser ablation of the metal nanowire percolation network. By scanning focused nanosecond pulsed laser a on copper nanowire percolation network, the copper nanowires are selectively ablated and patterned without resorting to any conventional chemical etching or photolithography steps. Several arbitrary patterns of copper nanowire transparent conductors are readily created on the percolation network by changing various laser parameters, such as repetition rate and power. Finally, in a few seconds, the copper nanowire electrode is continuously ablated to a 1 × 1 mm square area. This research thereby proves the advantage of the laser fabrication method.