Preparation of free-standing metal wire arrays by in situ assembly

Highly oriented wire arrays have been formed by an in situ assembly method. Porous alumina templates (AAO) are used to electrochemically grow Au-Ni superlattice wires. After removal of the template, the gold segments of the wires are linked to each other via a combination of thiols and gold nanoparticles. Subsequent removal of the nickel layer produces freestanding arrays containing highly aligned gold wires. Robust, large area (> 1 cm(2)), freestanding single or multilayered wire arrays, sub-micron to multi-microns thick, can be readily obtained. The potential of these anisotropic materials for applications in electronics and sensor devices is discussed.