Single crystalline β phase Cu–Zn nanowires: Synthesis and martensitic transformation

•Synthesis of single crystalline beta Cu–Zn nanowires.•Structural characterization and manipulation of the nanowires.•The temperature driven martensitic transformation was measured in a single nanowire.

Here, we report the synthesis of single crystalline β phase Cu–Zn nanowires (diameter around 150 nm and typical length up to 10 μm) by combining electrodeposition and annealing. The obtained nanowires present temperature driven martensitic transformation similar to that found in bulk samples from B2 to 9R structure. A weak influence of the dimensionality on the martensitic transformation is observed in these nanowires. The possibility to obtain bundles of single crystalline nanowires with tunable martensitic transformation temperature and hysteresis similar to that found in bulk, seems to be a fundamental approach to the development of smart nanosystems based on shape memory alloys.