Control of adsorption and alignment of V₂O₅ nanowires via chemically functionalized patterns

We developed a method to precisely control the locations and orientations of deposited divanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanowires on SiO₂ surfaces using chemically functionalized patterns. The nanowires were deposited onto the substrates either from solution or via the edge transfer mechanism of micro-contact printing. In both cases, negatively charged V₂O₅ nanowires showed a strong adsorption selectivity onto 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with positively charged functional groups, whereas the SAMs with non-polar and neutral terminal groups of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) worked as perfect passivation layers. In particular, directional alignment of nanowires inside the chemically patterned area, depending upon the shapes of the patterns, was observed. The wires were aligned along the long axis of the pattern when the width of the APS pattern was as small as 1νm. This strategy allows us to control the adsorption and alignment of V₂O₅ nanowires on the substrates, which could be used for various nano-device applications such as interconnection of electronic circuits.