Electrical property improvement in Cu@graphitic-carbon nanocables

Nanocables of metallic copper nanowire cores coated with amorphous carbon (Cu@C NCs) and graphitic carbon (Cu@G NCs) were mass synthesized via a hydrothermal approach and a further carbonization process. TEM and other techniques revealed that ≈15 nm thickness graphitic carbons uniformly encapsulated the well crystallized copper nanowires along the [110] direction. The electrical resistivity measurement indicated that the Cu@C NCs are insulating while the Cu@G NCs are conductive. In addition, the electrical resistivity of a single Cu@G NC was ≈1.6158×10⁻⁵ Ω cm at room temperature, lower than that of Cu nanowires. This opens a door to broad applications in nanoelectronics.