Electrically controlled catalytic nanowire growth based on surface charge density

1. A method of producing metal-X nanowires comprising:

immersing two electrodes into a reactant solution containing an organic molecule having an affinity for a surface of a nanowire;

applying an electric field across the two electrodes, at least one electrode including a catalyst that includes bismuth or antimony;

adding an X precursor to the reactant solution after applying the electric field; and

heating the reactant solution with the X precursor while applying the electric field to a growth temperature between 200° C and 350° C to grow the nanowire,

wherein a gap between the two electrodes is less than 1 mm.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the two electrodes are supported on a substrate.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the substrate includes glass, quartz, or silicon.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the two electrodes are facing electrodes separated by a gap.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the gap is between 10 nm and 100 microns.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one electrode includes platinum and titanium.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst includes a seed particle.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising altering a surface charge density of at least one electrode.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein altering the surface charge density of at least one electrode includes increasing the negative surface charge density on the electrode having lower potential.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the electric field includes applying a voltage between 0V and 10V.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanowire is a metal chalcogenide.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the reactant solution includes a metal source and a chalcogenide source.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the metal source includes cadmium.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the chalcogenide source includes selenium.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the growth temperature is between 200° C and 300° C.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the growth temperature is about 285° C.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gap is less than 250 microns.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gap is less than 100 microns.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gap is between 10 nm and 50 microns.

20. A method of producing a device including a metal-X nanowire comprising:

applying an electric field across two electrodes, at least one electrode including a catalyst that includes bismuth or antimony, to a reaction solution to create a nanowire, wherein the reaction solution contains an organic molecule having an affinity for a surface of the nanowire and wherein the electrodes are immersed into the reaction solution;

adding an X precursor to the reactant solution after applying the electric field;

heating the reactant solution with the X precursor while applying the electric field to a growth temperature between 200° C and 350° C to grow the nanowire; and

incorporating the nanowire in the device,

wherein a gap between the two electrodes is less than 1 mm.