Using galvanostatic pulse deposition, we studied the factors influencing the quality of electroformed Bi1-xSbxnanowires with respect to composition, crystallinity, and preferred orientation for high thermoelectric performance. Two nonaqueous baths with different Sb salts were investigated. The Sb salts used played a major role in both crystalline quality and preferred orientations. Nanowire arrays electroformed using an SbI3-based chemistry were polycrystalline with no preferred orientation, whereas arrays electroformed from an SbCl3-based chemistry were strongly crystallographically textured with the desired trigonal orientation for optimal thermoelectric performance. From the SbCl3 bath, the electroformed nanowire arrays were optimized to have nanocompositional uniformity, with a nearly constant composition along the nanowire length. Nanowires harvested from the center of the array had an average composition of Bi0.75Sb0.25. However, the nanowire compositions were slightly enriched in Sb in a small region near the edges of the array, with the composition approaching Bi0.700.30.
Vertically aligned, untangled planarized arrays of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with Ohmic back contacts were grown in nanopore templates on arbitrary substrates. The templates were prepared by sputter depositing Nd-doped Al films onto W-coated substrates, followed by anodization to form an aluminum oxide nanopore array. The W underlayer helps eliminate the aluminum oxide barrier that typically occurs at the nanopore bottoms by instead forming a thin WO3 layer. The WO3 can be selectively etched to enable electrodeposition of Co catalysts with control over the Co site density. This led to control of the site density of MWNTs grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition, with W also serving as a back electrical contact. Ohmic contact to MWNTs was confirmed, even following ultrasonic cutting of the entire array to a uniform height.