DNA-Templated Pd Conductive Metallic Nanowires

Because of its unique recognition properties, its size and the sub-nanometric resolution, DNA is of particular interest for positioning and organizing nanomaterials. However, in DNA-directed nanoelectronic it can be envisioned to use DNA not only as a positioning scaffold, but also as a support for the conducting element. To ensure this function a metallization process is necessary and among the various DNA metallization methods the I'd based ones are of particular interest for carbon nanotube transistor connections. In this field, the major drawback of the existing methods is the fast kinetics of the process which lead to a stochastic growth. Here, we present a novel approach to DNA Pd metalization where the DNA molecule is previously deposited on a dry substrate in a typical nanodevice configuration. In our approach die progressive growth of nanowires is achieved by the slow and selective precipitation of PdO, followed by a subsequent reduction step. Thanks to this strategy we fabricated homogeneous, continuous mid conductive Pd nanowires on the DNA scaffolds of very thin diameter (20-25 nm).