Controlled fabrication of gold and polypyrrole nanowires with straight and branched morphologies via porous alumina template-assisted approach

Abstract Straight and branched nanowires (NWs) of gold and polypyrrole (PPy) were synthesized inside the pre-designed nanochannels of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates via electrodeposition. The morphologies, diameters and lengths of the NWs could be tailored by tuning the topologies of the nanochannels inside the AAO template and electrodeposition parameters. The present method provides a rational way to build materials that can be electrodeposited inside the nanochannels into NWs with desired architectures, which have potentials in nanoelectronics and nanosystems.