Ultrathin In2O3 Nanowires with Diameters below 4 nm: Synthesis, Reversible Wettability Switching Behavior, and Transparent Thin-Film Transistor Applications

Ultrafine one-dimensional (1-D) semiconducting nanostructures with diameters below 10 nm are attracting great research attention. Using a laser-ablation chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, we reported the synthesis of single-crystal In2O3 nanowires with diameter below 4 nm. The as-synthesized ultrathin In2O3 nanowires act as the ultrathin branches of hierarchical In2O3 nanostructures and:show fast photoinduced switching surface wettability behaviors, and the contact angle decreased from 134.3 to 0 degrees in 10 min. Transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTs) were fabricated using the as-synthesized product, and the device conductance was 1-2 orders higher than the average conductance of the In2O3 single nanowire devices, revealing good opportunity In transparent electronics.