'Nanowire Monolayers' Offer Nanotechnology Applications

Roland Piquepaille writes "According to the Daily Californian, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a new technique to build monolayers of nanowires. By applying various kinds of chemistry to these nanowires, they think it will open the way for future applications in nanotechnology. "The monolayers can be placed onto surfaces such as plastics, polymers, glass, silicon and even soft, flexible surfaces. With so many possibilities, the nanowires can be used as active components in solar cells, light-emitting diodes and other optics to enhance electromagnetic signals." The researchers also are targeting surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for better detection of chemicals and explosives. This summary contains more details and a spectacular photograph of these monolayers of nanowires."