Vertical growth of bimetallic nanostructures at ambient conditions.

Abstract

Electrolytic spray is a very new technique to produce solvated metal ions from a metal wire by electrocorrosion. These solvated ions can be deposited on a substrate to form nanoparticles (NPs). We have developed methods to create different nanostructures and pattern them using suitable masks. Upon closer examination of the mask through microscopy, unusual structures were seen. These structures are formed because of the head on assembly of NPs. They are highly surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) active with an enhancement factor of 107 which suggests that this class of materials can be an excellent platform for sensing and trapping of different molecules. Different metal salts have been used to create such unusual structures in high yield. Even, mixture of salts was electrosprayed to create bimetallic structures. Blending of two metals led to the emergence of some unpredictable structural morphologies. Morphological variations have been investigated using different combination of metals.