Striped Alloy Nanowire Optical Reflectance Barcodes Prepared from a Single Plating Solution

The preparation of multisegment alloy nanowire barcodes with optical-reflectance striping patterns and large coding capacity using a template-assisted electro-deposition from a single gold-silver plating solution, was presented. A template-assisted electro-deposition method can be applied in a predetermined order for different duration for producing alloy segment of controlled length. The nanowire was prepared from an 85/15 (v/v) Au/Ag plating solution by applying different potentials. Barcodes were prepared by varying the deposition conditions, while using the same plating solution. The multipotential templated deposition from plating solution resulted in distinct stepwise variation of the alloy composition along the length of the nanowires. The reflectance intensity of barcodes was determined using the highest intensity value corresponding to a prevalently silver segment deposited at -0.50 V.