Getting wired up for nanotubes

In the quest for ever smaller electronic components, researchers from the National University of Singapore have made conducting polymer nanorods and nanotube Y-shaped junctions.  

As electronic components become smaller than 10nm and alternatives to silicon technology are required, these three-point junctions should become important building blocks in molecular electronics, connecting different sizes of nanotubes to each other. 

Using Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles coated with a stabiliser and cyclodextrin to improve the miscibility, the group, led by Hardy Sze On Chan, has templated polyaniline nanostructures. The magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles self-assemble to form chains around which aniline polymerises. By controlling the pH of the reaction, Chan and colleagues created both hollow nanotubes and nanorods containing Fe₃O₄. 

In the future Chan hopes to prepare other types of junction such as T- and H-shaped junctions as well as closed loops. He also hopes to use flash welding to ’solder’ nanorods or nanotubes to junctions in nano-electronic circuits.  

Rebecca Lavender