Influence of temperature and pressure on preparing Ga nanowire arrays by press-based nanoinfiltration

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Himbo

Nanoscale Advances paper investigating press-based nanoinfiltration to fabricate gallium (Ga) nanowire arrays inside nanoporous alumina templates with cylindrical pores. The study quantifies how temperature and pressure control the infiltration factor and nanowire length, reporting counterintuitive trends: higher filling factors and longer wires occur at lower infiltration temperatures near the solidification point, while best performance appears at intermediate infiltration pressures. Optimal processing yields over 10 million parallel Ga nanowires per square millimeter, with an average diameter of 151 ± 36 nm and an aspect ratio around 500.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background on nanowires and their properties

Existing fabrication methods (VLS and SLS)

Motivation and preparation challenges

Nanoscale Advances PAPER Cite this: DOI: 10 .1039/d5na00640f Received 1st July 2025 Accepted 28th October 2025 DOI: 10.1039/d5na00640f[rsc.li/nanoscale-advances](rsc.li/nanoscale-advances) Inﬂuence of temperature and pressure on preparing Ga nanowire arrays by press-based nanoinﬁltration Alberto A. Mendonça, * Leonardo Tomiatti, Kleber R. Pirota and Fanny Bron * Nanoscale advanced materials are crucial for technological innovations. Among them, nanowires stand out due to their promising conﬁnement eﬀects and anisotropic properties derived from their elongated structure. However, this class of nanomaterials remains relatively underexploited, primarily due to fabrication challenges. In this work, we implement an alternative method for preparing nanowire arrays by pressing liquid metal into nanoporous alumina templates with cylindrical pores. Gallium was used asthe liquid metal due to its melting point near room temperature. An investigation exploring the impact of temperature and pressure on the inﬁltration factor and length of nanowires was performed, revealing some counterintuitive behaviors. Higher ﬁlling factors and longer nanowires were obtained at lower inﬁltration temperatures, closer to the solidiﬁcation point, with better performance observed at intermediate inﬁltration pressures rather than at higher pressures. Under optimal conditions, over 10 million parallel Ga nanowires per square millimeter were produced, with an average diameter of 151 + 36 nm and a high aspect ratio of around 500 . 1. Introduction Among nanostructures, nanowires are particularly interesting due to their unidimensional geometry. Their high length-towidth and surface-to-volume ratios enhance properties such as anisotropy and sensitivity in chemical and biological aspects.1 In addition, nanoscale con􀀁nement enables the exploration of signi􀀁cant changes in quantum conditions, including modi􀀁cations in energy level con􀀁gurations.2 Asa result, properties such as magnetism and thermal, electrical, or optical conductivity can diﬀer signi􀀁cantly between the axial and transverse directions. These unidimensional nanoscale characteristics have been extensively studied for various applications.1–3 Over the past two decades, semiconductor nanowires with lengths reaching millimeters and diameters limited to hundreds of nanometers have been studied due to the diﬀerent conducting properties expected for one-dimensional materials.3 Researchers have developed numerous axial and radial nanowire heterostructures, exploring their distinct electronic and photonic properties.4–7 Moreover, nanowires may diﬀer in phonon transport properties compared to their bulk counterparts. For example, silicon nanowires with rough surfaces and approximately 50 nm in diameter demonstrated a 100-fold decrease in thermal conductivity.8 This resulted in a 􀀁gure of Instituto de Fsica Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-859 Campinas, SP, Brazil. E-mail: betophys@i􀀁.[unicamp.br](unicamp.br); 􀀁eron@i􀀁.[unicamp.br](unicamp.br) © 2025 The Author(s) . Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry merit of about 0.6 at room temperature – a considerable value for thermoelectric applications. Furthermore, the 􀀁rst fully integrated nanowire-based system for direct solar water splitting was developed in 2013.9 A few years later, the same research group created a hybrid system combining semiconducting nanowires with S. ovata bacteria, where the nanowires capture sunlight while the bacteria facilitate the conversion of carbon dioxide and water in a synthetic photosynthesis process.10 Beyond thermoelectrics and solar energy conversion and storage, nanowires have also played a signi􀀁cant role in advancing battery materials, piezoelectric technologies, and medical applications, as non-invasive drug delivery.1,11 However, the preparation of nanosized elongated materials with compositional tunability and high homogeneity remains challenging. A well-establis

FAQs

What fabrication method does the paper use to prepare Ga nanowire arrays?

It uses press-based nanoinfiltration, pressing liquid gallium into nanoporous alumina templates with cylindrical pores.

How do temperature and pressure affect nanowire infiltration and length?

Lower infiltration temperatures near the solidification point give higher filling factors and longer nanowires, while intermediate infiltration pressures outperform higher pressures.

What production performance is achieved under optimal conditions?

Over 10 million parallel Ga nanowires per square millimeter are produced, with an average diameter of 151 ± 36 nm and an aspect ratio around 500.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Himbo