Electrical Transport Properties of Boron-Based Nanostructures*

Many metal boride materials exhibit interesting electrical properties. Bulk MgB$_{2}$ has a superconducting transition temperature of 39 K. Boron-based nanostructures are predicted to possess special properties superior to those of other one-dimensional nanomaterials. Recent progress in material fabrication has enabled the successful synthesis of boron-based nanomaterials [J. Phys. Chem. C 113, 17661 (2009)]. Magnetization measurements of magnesium-boride nanostructures show evidence of a diamagnetic transition at high temperature, about 80 K. We describe electrical transport measurements of individual single nanowires composed of these and related materials.