Study of size dependent variation in electrical and structural properties of zinc nanowires

Nanowires have received much interest due to their unique properties and potential applications in nanoelectronics, plasmonics, sensors, superconductivity, nanoelectrodes, energy storage devices, generation of hydrogen energy etc. The understanding of electronic transport properties in nanowires is important for their applications in future nanoscale electronic devices. In the present work, the size and irradiation dependent variation in the electrical and structural properties of zinc nanowires is presented. Zinc nanowires with different diameters (80, 100, 200, 400 nm) were synthesized within the polycarbonate track-etched membranes using electrodeposition technique. I–V characteristics (IVC) recorded at room temperature showed higher electronic transport through nanowires with large diameter. The influence of diameter on the crystallite size and preferred orientation was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The synthesised nanowires were also irradiated with 40 MeV C⁴⁺ ion beam having fluence 10¹³ ions/cm². The post irradiation IVC and XRD characterization revealed the variation in their electrical conductivity and preferred orientation.