Ultrathin Au nanowires and their transport properties

This paper presents a facile synthesis of single-crystalline Au nanowires by reduction of HAuCl4 in oleic acid and oleylamine. The diameter of these micron-meter-long Au nanowires is controlled to be 3 and 9 nm by volume ratio of oleylamine and oleic acid. when linked betweem two gold electrodes, the 9nm Au nanowires shows good electron conductivity with its breakdown current density reaching 3.5 x 10(12) A/m(2). This demonstrates that the chemically made ultrathin Au nanowires can be used as a molecular-scale interconnect for nanoelectronic applications.