Finding form at the nanoscale

Researchers have taken an important step toward high-volume production of new nanometre-scale structures with the first systematic study of growth conditions that affect production of one-dimensional nanostructures from the optoelectronic material cadmium selenide (CdSe).

Using the results from more than 150 different experiments in which temperature and pressure conditions were systematically varied, nanotechnology researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technologycreated a “road map” to guide future nanomanufacturing using the vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) technique.

The results, reported this month in the journal Advanced Materials, join earlier Georgia Tech work that similarly mapped production conditions for nanostructures made from zinc oxide, an increasingly important nanotechnology material. Together, the two studies provide a foundation for large-scale, controlled synthesis of nanostructures that could play important roles in future sensors, displays and other nanoelectronic devices.

“For the future of nanomanufacturing, we needed a systematic map to show the best conditions for producing these structures with high yield,” explained Zhong Lin Wang, director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and a Regent’s professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. “This information will be necessary for scaling up the production of these interesting structures for the applications that will be developed.”