Palladium nanoparticle-controlled growth of magnetic cobalt nanowires on DNA templates

We report a new method to fabricate magnetic Co nanowires through the control of 1-3 nm Pd nanoparticles pre-formed on DNA templates. This method effectively limits undesirable deposition in bulk solution, often a problem in assembly of continuous nanowires. A large amount of Co nanowire was synthesized and behaved ferromagnetic. Fabrication on oriented DNA has resulted in Co nanowire array with diameter of 40-50 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) have been used to characterize nanowire structures and magnetic properties. This method could be useful for the development of future magnetic nanowires. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.