文摘
We report a new type of water-soluble ultrathin Au鈥揂g alloy nanowire (NW), which exhibits unprecedented behavior in a colloidal solution. Upon growth of a thin metal (Pd, Pt, or Au) layer, the NW winds around itself to give a metallic double helix. We propose that the winding originates from the chirality within the as-synthesized Au鈥揂g NWs, which were induced to untwist upon metal deposition.