Effect of metal ions on hybrid graphite-diamond nanowire growth: Conductivity measurements from a single nanowire device

Novel Cd ²⁺ ions mediated reproducible hybrid graphite-diamond nanowire (G-DNWs; Cd ²⁺ -NDS1 NW) growth from 4-Amino-5-phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (S1) functionalized diamond nanoparticles (NDS1) via supramolecular assembly is reported and demonstrated through TEM and AFM images. FTIR, EDX and XPS studies reveal the supramolecular coordination between functional units of NDS1 and Cd ²⁺ ions towards NWs growth. Investigations of XPS, XRD and Raman data show the covering of graphite sheath over DNWs. Moreover, HR-TEM studies on Cd ²⁺ -NDS1 NW confirm the coexistence of less perfect sp ² graphite layer and sp ³ diamond carbon along with impurity channels and flatten surface morphology. Possible mechanisms behind the G-DNWs growth are proposed and clarified. Subsequently, conductivity of the as-grown G-DNWs is determined through the fabrication of a single Cd ²⁺ -NDS1 NW device, in which the G-DNW portion L2 demonstrates a better conductivity of 2.31 × 10 ⁻⁴ mS/cm. In addition, we investigate the temperature-dependent carrier transport mechanisms and the corresponding activation energy in details. Finally, comparisons in electrical resistivities with other carbon-based materials are made to validate the importance of our conductivity measurements.