Inorganic nanowires

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes, there has been great interest in the synthesis and characterization of other one-dimensional materials. A variety of inorganic materials have been prepared in the form of nanowires with a diameter of a few nm and lengths going up to several microns. In order to produce the nanowires, both vapor-growth and solution-growth processes have been made use of. Besides physical methods, such as thermal evaporation and laser ablation, chemical methods including solvothermal, hydrothermal and carbothermal reactions have been employed for their synthesis. In this article, we describe the synthesis, structure and properties of nanowires of various inorganic materials, which include elements, oxides, nitrides, carbides and chalcogenides. Wherever possible, we have also included the relevant information on related one-dimensional materials, such as nanobelts. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.