Novel procedure for the template synthesis of metal nanostructures

In this work we describe a novel method for the fabrication of a regular and uniform array of Cu nanowires into anodic alumina membranes. It is based on galvanic contact between the metal sputtered film covering the bottom of template and a less noble metal. The growth rate was estimated as function of the immersion time. Nanowires with aspect ratio from 12 to 286 were obtained by adjusting the deposition time. Copper nanowires were found to be polycrystalline with an average crystalline size of about 40 nm. This procedure can be applied for the preparation of a wide range of metallic nanostructures and it can be easily scaled up for industrial processing.