Copper nanowires (Cu NWs) are newly synthesized one-dimensional nanomaterials exhibiting synergistic integration of high electrical/thermal conductivity, mechanical flexibility, and inherent antimicrobial behavior. This article reviews recent progress in synthesis of copper nanowires composites, including research of innovative synthetic routes (electrodeposition, wet chemical reduction, hydrothermal, and hydrazine methods) yielding high aspect ratio Cu NWs and composite fabrication strategies (physical mixing, coating/deposition, and impregnation into host matrices) integrating Cu NWs into functional materials are summarized. Furthermore, this review discusses the applications of biological field in copper nanowires composites from many aspects. In agricultural and food technologies, Cu NWs reinforced biodegradable films and sensors have promising applications in agricultural films and contaminant detection. In biomedicine, copper nanowires composites display strong broad spectrum antibacterial activity with weak cytotoxicity. In wearable electronics, copper nanowires composites have been reported for electrochemical biosensing and as flexible heating devices. Finally, this review discusses the challenges and future development directions that remain for the applications of copper nanowires composites in the field of biotechnology-related applications. • A comprehensive review of copper nanowires (Cu NWs) synthesis methods is presented. • Multiple Cu NWs composite fabrication strategies are summarized. • The applications of Cu NWs composites in agriculture, food detection, biomedicine, tumor therapy, antimicrobial technologies, and wearable electronics are systematically discussed.
Li et al. (Thu,) studied this question.