The development of metal oxide-based molecular wires is important for fundamental research and potential practical applications. However, examples of these materials are rare. Researchers have now 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.

Scientists have shown that a single nanowire can concentrate the sunlight up to 15 times of the normal sun light intensity. The results are surprising and the potential for developing a new type of highly efficient solar cells is great.

Scientists have developed high-performance organic phototransistors (OPTs) based on single-crystalline n-channel organic nanowires.

What looks like a bed of nails are actually nanowires. Each outgrowing thread has a diameter of 80 nanometres (billionths of a metre). The green things climbing on the nanowires are neurons.Credit: Image courtesy of Lund University
Neurons thrive and grow in a new type of nanowire material developed by researchers …