Programmed dielectrophoretic assembly of Pd nanoparticles for conductance control in VO₂ nanowires

Recently, hybrid nanodevices consisting of more than one type of nanomaterial, have been an intense research topic as far as science and advanced functionalities of such systems are concerned. However, lack of controlled, scalable and directed assembly techniques for these hybrid systems, particularly the accurate assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) on nanowires (NWs), has resulted in their limited applications. In the present work, a development has been reported using dielectrophoresis (DEP) technique through which a controlled assembly of palladium (Pd) NPs on VO₂ NWs has been deposited. Furthermore, modulation in conductivity of VO₂ NWs as a function of the NPs density is electrically measured and interpreted through work-function dependent surface doping effect of the Pd NPs on VO₂ NWs. This well-controlled and scalable approach to functionalize VO₂ NWs by assembling Pd NPs is significant in the view of a huge potential of Pd NPs like sensor applications thus adding functionalities to VO₂ NWs. Our approach can be generalized for the large-scale assembly of a variety of NP-NW combination to fabricate advanced functional hybrid devices.