Structural and electrical characterization of hybrid metal-polypyrrole nanowires

Abstract

We present here the synthesis and structural characterization of hybrid Au-polypyrrole-Au and Pt- polypyrrole-Au nanowires together with a study of their electrical properties from room-temperature down to very low temperature. A careful characterization of the metal-polymer interfaces by trans- mission electron microscopy revealed that the structure and mechanical strength of bottom and upper interfaces are very different. Variable temperature electrical transport measurements were performed on both multiple nanowires - contained within the polycarbonate template - and single nanowires. Our data show that the three-dimensional Mott variable-range-hopping model provides a complete framework for the understanding of transport in PPy nanowires, including non-linear current-voltage characteristics and magnetotransport at low temperatures.