Self-assembly of highly oriented palladium-based nanowires on mica surface

The self-assembly of various nanostructures is recently attracting a great deal of research attention. In this paper, we demonstrate that a palladium chloride aqueous solution, mixed with a proper ammonia solution, can produce Tetra-amminepalladous chloride (Pd(NH3)(4)Cl-2 center dot H2O) nanowires. These nanowires can spontaneously form the two-dimensional hexagon-oriented Pd(NH3)(4)Cl-2 center dot H2O arrays on mica surfaces. We can control the length and height of these nanowires by adjusting their deposit time on the mica substrate. This method can be potentially used in making sensors or in making templates to wire and position nanodevices. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.