Tuning the morphology of copper nanowires by controlling the growth processes in electrodeposition

We present an alternative route to fabricate Cu nanowires having various classes of morphologies by controlling the deposition temperature. A rough nanowire with an irregular wire diameter along the wire axis is obtained at a high deposition temperature, whereas a smooth, compact nanowire is obtained as the temperature is lowered. However, as the temperature is dropped further down to subzero degrees, an unusual behavior is observed where the nanowires exhibit rough, dendritic morphologies with relatively uniform wire diameters. We explain this peculiar growth behavior on the basis of kinetic and thermodynamic growth processes.