Millimeters long super flexible Mn<sub>5</sub>Si<sub>3</sub>@SiO<sub>2</sub> electrical nanocables applicable in harsh environments.

Sun, Yong; Sun, Bo; He, Jingbo; Yang, Guowei; Wang, Chengxin · Nat Commun · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Providing high performance electrical nano-interconnects for micro-nano electronics that are robust in harsh environments is highly demanded. Today, electrical nano-interconnects based on metallic nanowires, e.g. Ag and Cu, are limited by their positive physicochemical reactivity and ductility under large strain (i.e. irreversible dislocations and local necking-down elongation) at high temperatures or in strong oxidizing and acidic environments. Herein, to overcome these limitations, high-quality millimetre-sized soft manganese-based silicide (Mn<sub>5</sub>Si<sub>3</sub>@SiO<sub>2</sub>) nanowire nanocables are designed via a glassy Si-Mn-O matrix assisted growth. The proposed nanocables exhibit good electrical performance (resistivity of 1.28 to 3.84×10<sup>-6</sup> Ωm and maximum current density 1.22 to 3.54×10<sup>7</sup> A cm<sup>-2</sup>) at temperatures higher than 317°C in air atmosphere, strongly acidic (HCl, PH=1.0) and oxidizing (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, 10%) ambient, and under complex electric field. The proposed Mn<sub>5</sub>Si<sub>3</sub>@SiO<sub>2</sub> nanocables, which withstand a strain of 16.7% free of failure, could be exploited for diverse applications in flexible electronics and complex wiring configurations.