Capillary-driven growth of metallic nanowires

We report the spontaneous growth of high aspect ratio Fe nanowires from isolated Fe nanoparticles of equilibrium shape, formed after agglomeration of a thin Fe film on sapphire. Nanowire growth is “self-sufficient”: no catalyst is required, and the agglomerated film itself is the only source of material. We discuss this phenomenon in terms of capillary-driven Fe diffusion on the substrate and along the nanowire/substrate interface. A semi-quantitative growth model is developed and the implications for other materials are discussed.

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