Home > Press > Ultra-thin, all-inorganic molecular nanowires successfully compounded
![]()  | 
| This diagram shows structure of Mo-Te oxide nanowire. (a) Polyhedral representation and (b) ball-and stick representation of a hexagonal unit of [TeIVMoVI6O21]2-, (c) a single molecular wire of Mo-Te oxide. The bridge oxygen atoms that connect the hexagonal units are highlighted in yellow. (d) Assembly of single molecular wires into crystalline Mo-Te oxide. Mo: blue, Te (Se): brown, O: red. CREDIT: Zhang, et al., Nature Communications 6, 7731, Fig. 3.  | 
Abstract:
Nanowires are wired-shaped materials with diameters that are tens of nanometers or less. There are many types of nanowires, including semiconducting composite nanowires, metal oxide composite nanowires, and organic polymer nanowires, and they are typically used in functional materials and devices used as sensors, transistors, semiconductors, photonics devices, and solar cells.
Molecular wires composed of only inorganic materials have attracted significant attention due to their stable structures, tunable chemical compositions, and tunable properties. However, there have only been a few reports regarding the development of all-inorganic molecular nanowires.
Dr. Zhenxin Zhang and Prof. Wataru Ueda at the Catalysis Research Center at Hokkaido University (Prof. Ueda is currently working for Kanagawa University) and their collaborators at Hokkaido University, Hiroshima University, and Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute/SPring-8 successfully created ultrathin all-inorganic molecular nanowires, composed of a repeating hexagonal molecular unit made of Mo and Te; the diameters of these wires were only 1.2 nm. These nanowires were obtained by the disassembly of the corresponding crystals through cation exchange and subsequent ultrasound treatment.
Furthermore, the researchers have shown that the ultrathin molecular wire-based material exhibits high activity as an acid catalyst, and the band gap of the molecular wire-based crystal is easily tuned via heat treatment. It is expected that the metal oxide molecular wire-based materials will open up new fields of research in heterogeneous catalysts, thermochromic materials, and semiconductors, as well as other related fields.
"This is a very rare isolated molecular nanowire based on transition metal-oxygen octahedra, and is an attractive catalyst due to the large surface area," said Professor Masahiro Sadakane, a coauthor of this study, from Hiroshima University.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Norifumi Miyokawa
Copyright © Hiroshima University
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
| Related Links | 
| Related News Press | 
News and information
    Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies October 3rd, 2025
    Next-generation quantum communication October 3rd, 2025
    "Nanoreactor" cage uses visible light for catalytic and ultra-selective cross-cycloadditions October 3rd, 2025
    Researchers tackle the memory bottleneck stalling quantum computing October 3rd, 2025
Chemistry
    "Nanoreactor" cage uses visible light for catalytic and ultra-selective cross-cycloadditions October 3rd, 2025
    Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Chip Technology
    Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
    A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
    Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025
Sensors
    Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
    Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025
Nanoelectronics
    Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
    Interdisciplinary: Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors Multiferroics could be the key to ultralow-energy computing October 6th, 2023
    Key element for a scalable quantum computer: Physicists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University demonstrate electron transport on a quantum chip September 23rd, 2022
    Reduced power consumption in semiconductor devices September 23rd, 2022
Discoveries
    Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies October 3rd, 2025
    Next-generation quantum communication October 3rd, 2025
    "Nanoreactor" cage uses visible light for catalytic and ultra-selective cross-cycloadditions October 3rd, 2025
Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance
    First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
    Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
    A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
    Institute for Nanoscience hosts annual proposal planning meeting May 16th, 2025
Announcements
    Rice membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste October 3rd, 2025
    Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies October 3rd, 2025
    Next-generation quantum communication October 3rd, 2025
    "Nanoreactor" cage uses visible light for catalytic and ultra-selective cross-cycloadditions October 3rd, 2025
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
    Spinel-type sulfide semiconductors to operate the next-generation LEDs and solar cells For solar-cell absorbers and green-LED source October 3rd, 2025
    Rice membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste October 3rd, 2025
Energy
    Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
    Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
Photonics/Optics/Lasers
    ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
    Institute for Nanoscience hosts annual proposal planning meeting May 16th, 2025
Solar/Photovoltaic
    Spinel-type sulfide semiconductors to operate the next-generation LEDs and solar cells For solar-cell absorbers and green-LED source October 3rd, 2025
    KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell November 8th, 2024
    Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024
    Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024
| 
			 | 
	||
| 
			 | 
	||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
| 
			 | 
	||
| 
			 | 
	||
| Premium Products | ||
| 
			 | 
	||
| 
			Only the news you want to read! 
			 Learn More  | 
		||
| 
			 | 
	||
| 
			Full-service, expert consulting 
			 Learn More  | 
		||
| 
			 | 
	||