(December 8, 2015) Researchers
at the University of Twente research instituteMESA+ have devised an elegant
method for fitting various functional coatings to silicon microwires. The
method makes it possible to create relatively easily a wire that is coated on
its lower side with platinum, for example, and with silver on top. The wires
can be used potentially for generating renewable energy or for purifying water.
The research has been published today in the prestigious scientific journal
Advanced Materials.
Microwires made of the semi-conductor silicon are used in
numerous fields. It is generally necessary to ‘functionalize’ them, by adding a
layer of metal or a layer of a catalyst. In most cases, the wires are given a
single layer, but in specific instances it is useful to put a different
material on the bottom and on the top of the wires. However, creating these
wires proved very difficult and the process of making them involved many steps.
Researchers from the University of Twente have now developed a new method that
makes creating wires of this kind easy. According to University of Twente
Professor Jurriaan Huskens, this has provided chemists with a versatile method
for creating new materials.