Study of electronic transport in gamma ray exposed nanowires

•Cu and Cd nanowires were synthesized by technique of electrodeposition in templates.•The nanowires were exposed to different doses of gamma ray photons.•A sharp decline in the current in I–V characteristics (IVC) was observed.•Structural deviation in terms of granular orientations was also analysed.•The electron–phonon coupling may be responsible for observed sharp decline in IVC.

One dimensional nanostructures provide the most restricted and narrow channel for the transport of charge carriers and therefore 1D structures preserve their significance from the viewpoint of electronic devices. The net radiation effect on nanomaterials is expected to be more (due to their increased reactivity and lesser bulk volume) than their bulk counterparts. Radiation often modifies the structure and simultaneously the other physical properties of materials. In this manner, the irradiation phenomenon could be counted as a strong criterion to induce changes in the structural and electrical properties of nanowires. We have studied the effect of gamma rays on the electronic flow through Cu and Cd nanowires by plotting their I–V characteristics (IVC). The IVC of gamma ray exposed nanowires was found to be a combination of the linear and nonlinear regions and a decreasing pattern in the electrical conductivity (calculated from the linear portion of IVC) was observed as we increased the dose of gamma rays.

Graphical abstractA sharp decline in the I–V characteristics of Cu (and Cd) nanowires was experimentally observed after the gamma ray exposure of nanowires. Irradiation induced transformations in the granular properties and the resonance state of electron–phonon coupling beyond a particular value of external field may be accountable for observed shape of I–V characteristics in gamma ray exposed nanowires.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide