Stress-induced growth of well-aligned Cu2O nanowire arrays and their photovoltaic effect

A well-aligned Cu2O nanowire array was fabricated by the stress-induced method. A new stress-redistribution phenomenon related to the cooling procedure was observed and a creative growth procedure was demonstrated. High-quality Cu2O nanowires with an aspect ratio up to 300 and a growth density higher than 109 cm−2 can be derived under the optimum condition of cooling gradually for 4 h after heating for 5 h. A typical photovoltaic effect was demonstrated to exist in the Cu2O/Cu junction.