Electroless synthesis of pure nickel metal nanotubes using silicon oxide nanowires as removable templates

We report here the first successful synthesis of pure Ni nanotubes by employing the electroless Ni deposition in conjunction with removable amorphous SiOx (a-SiOx) nanowire templates technique. After the 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) functionalization, activation, and hydrazine-modified electroless Ni plating processes, a uniform a-SiOx/pure Ni core-shell nanowire structure is produced. By etching away the inner a-SiOx nanowire templates, hollow Ni nanotubes are readily obtained. The observed results present the exciting prospect that with appropriate controls, the hydrazine-modified electroless deposition combined with the APTMS-functionalized a-SiOx nanowire templates technique can be successfully implemented in forming a variety of high-purity, hollow, metal nanotubes. (c) 2007 The Electrochemical Society.