Therefore, the small amount of longitudinal stress along the carbon nanowire can be explained by the fact that most of the dimensional changes occur in the polymer phase and only small dimensional

changes occur during the solid carbon formation itself. It also should be stressed that the slow temperature ramp rate of 1°C/min during the pyrolysis process and the slow cooling process afterwards would tend to anneal out any excessive stresses accumulated in the carbon structure. The shape of the supporting posts was converted from a brick shape to a four-pole tent shape and the wire bent downwards at supports where the nanowire and the post are connected as shown in the inset image of Figure 2b and Additional file 1: Figure S2. This geometric shape is a result of the very good adhesion of SU-8 to the substrate, where the bottom part of the posts, during pyrolysis, is held strongly by the substrate while Eltanexor datasheet the top of the posts tend to shrink freely inwards and downwards. As a result of this type of non-uniform volume reduction of the posts, the side-wall profile of the posts changes from a straight wall to a curved one and as a consequence the suspended nanowires experience more elongation at the top compared to the bottom and the nanowire supports are bent downwards. It is this difference

in the top to bottom elongation across the nanowire thickness that causes the transverse stress gradient in the nanowire. The photoresist wires are formed thicker at the supports as shown in the dashed rectangle of Figure 2a because the photomask open area in the 2nd UV lithography Bafilomycin A1 supplier process is enlarged abruptly at the supports such that the UV energy is transferred deeper at the ends of the nanowire. The polymer supports remain thicker

compared to the wire through pyrolysis and transforms into thick carbon bent supports. This bridge-shaped carbon nanowire geometry and the tensional stress, that is not significant but grows triclocarban along the nanowire thickness, enhanced the structural robustness of the nanowire and could enable high aspect ratio (approximately 450) suspended carbon nanowires to resist stiction to the substrate even when they were wet processed with very small gaps between the nanowires and the substrate. Figure 2 SEM images of suspended SU-8 microwire structure, a corresponding carbon nanowire structure, and suspended carbon nanomesh. (a) A suspended SU-8 microwire structure before pyrolysis and (b) a corresponding suspended carbon nanowire structure after pyrolysis. (c) A suspended carbon nanomesh. Inset images of (a) and (b) are the enlarged views of the polymer and carbon supports. In contrast to suspended carbon nanowires fabricated using electrospinning, the UV lithography-patterned suspended carbon nanowires can be shaped in a wide GS-7977 concentration variety of geometries such as nanomeshes.