Abnormal resistance–temperature characteristic of the melting Bi nanowires

•The electronic properties of the melting Bi nanowires are investigated in the AAO.•The pore confinement of AAO makes the melting Bi nanowires keep the nanomorphology.•The change of chemical bond has effect on the resistance of the melting Bi nanowires.•This work provides valuable information for designing high quality electrical devices.

There are no reports about the electronic transport behavior of the melting metal nanostructures because the morphology of nanostructures cannot be kept under the melting condition. Here, the electronic properties of the melting Bi nanowires are investigated using the pore confinement of anodic aluminum oxide template. The results indicate that with the increase of temperature the resistance of Bi nanowires has a transition from the positive temperature coefficient of resistance before fusion to the negative one after fusion. Moreover, as the temperature gradually increases, the resistance of the melting Bi nanowires rapidly decreases at first, and then tardily decreases. This research provides fundamental and valuable information for exploring and designing the new electronic devices under the high temperature.