Silver nanowires are currently being synthesized using ferroelectric lithography at the University of North Carolina Asheville, but the wires are wiped clean from the periodically poled lithium niobate substrate after they are characterized. By encasing the wires in epoxy, they may be preserved and analyzed further. By enveloping the wires in various types of resins, they may be built into integrated circuits used in nanotechnology, or used as a tunable substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The act of being able to synthesize wires, preserve them, and quickly reuse the lithium niobate substrate to synthesize more wires is the key to perpetuating this project. The effect on the quality of these wires by the epoxy and the longevity and durability need to be characterized as a function of the resin chosen. Data on using epoxies on this small of a scale is uncommon. Therefore, effectiveness of silver removal without damaging the periodically poled lithium niobate crystal, sufficiency of wire preservation, and compatibility with the current cleaning methods of methanol, acetone, pyridine, and Aqua Regia will be determined through experimentation.
