Room temperature template-free electrodeposition of CuSCN nanowires

Here for the first time electrochemical deposition of copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) nanowires (NWs) from an aqueous electrolyte at room temperature is reported. The formation of CuSCN in an aqueous solution is a two-step reaction, where in the first step Cu2+ is reduced to Cu+ and in the second step Cu+ chemically precipitates with SCN- to form CuSCN. CuSCN preparation in the form of nanowires depends on the chelating agent in the electrolyte and could be precisely controlled by the applied potential or the applied current density. Additionally the CuSCN NWs dimensions could be tailored by the electrolyte composition and the passed charge density. The electrodeposited CuSCN NWs exhibit high crystalline quality and are c-axis oriented. We believe that this easy way of preparing CuSCN NWs could open several avenues for their application in the domain of photovoltaics, sensors and optical displays. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.