Template-Guided Growth or Patterning

Alumina nanoporous templates have also been used in gas-phase growth of CPNTs. It has been reported that isolated nanotubes consisting of poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) and carbonized-PPV bilayers can be synthesized in an alumina template by chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization. In a smdy done by Kim and colleagues, CVD polymerization of PPV was carried out by passing monomer vapor through a pyrolysis zone at 625 °C to form precursor polymer nanotubes on the inner surface of the alumina nanochannels. The nanotubes were further thermally treated in vacuum at 270 °C for an extended time (14 h) to be converted into PPV nanotubes. In order to create PPV/ carbonized PPV bilayer nanotubes, the PPV nanotubes were then carbonized at 850 °C 

Besides nanoporous alumina template, nanoporous polycarbonate (PC) is another popular choice for the growth of CPNWs. PPV and PEDOT nanowires of a few hundred nanometers have been prepared by CVD and electrochemical methods, respectively, using PC templates [55,58], 

With this method, single poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV), PANI, and PPY nanowires have been synthesized and very narrow CPNWs with diameters as small as 5 nm have been demonstrated using DNA templates [60-63], 

---