Syntheses and applications of small metallic nanorods from solution and physical vapor deposition

Abstract

Metallic nanorods have a wide range of important technological applications. Fabrication of metallic nanorods of ∼100 nm using physical vapor deposition (PVD) has been commonplace for several decades. On this length scale, nanorods have similar functionalities to bulk thin films with the advantage of increased surface area. When the lateral dimension is decreased to ∼10 nm new functionalities emerge that are not present in thin film counterparts, such as catalysis. Small metallic nanorods, those ∼10 nm, have classically been made through solution-based synthesis. Alternatively, recent advances in scientific understanding, a framework of nanorod growth, have opened the door to the fabrication of small nanorods through PVD. Growing small nanorods through PVD offers technologically relevant advantages over solutionbased processing like direct control of aspect ratio, pure high-vacuum processing, and oriented attachment to a substrate. Among materials, gold (Au) has a wide range of technological applications and is a good prototype for understanding the behavior of common face center cubic metals. This article reviews solution processing and PVD of small metallic nanorods using Au as a prototype, in terms of scientific understanding and fabrication knowledge, and further compares and contrasts the two approaches. De Gruyter. © 2013, by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston. All rights reserved.