ANU - Nanotube Research -

Nanowires

Unusual corrugated nanowires of zinc oxide
A.M. Glushenkov, H. Zhang, J. Zou, G.Q. Lu and Y. Chen
Journal of Crystal Growth, 310 (2008) 3139-3143

Abstract:We report an unusual morphology of ZnO nanowires with a hexagonal cross-section and corrugated side walls.The formation of corrugated nanowires is attributed to the lateral growth activated by the high vapor supersaturation and the presence of stacking faults.

Efficient production of ZnO nanowires by a ball milling and annealing method
A M Glushenkov, H Z Zhang, J Zou, G Q Lu and Y Chen
Nanotechnology 18 (2007) 175604 (6pp)

ZnO powder was mechanically milled in a ball mill. This procedure was found to greatly increase its evaporation ability. The anomalous evaporation
behaviour was caused by the disordered structure of the milled material and was not related to the increase in its surface area after milling. ZnO
nanowires were synthesized by evaporation of this milled precursor. Nanowires with smooth and rough surfaces were present in the sample; the
latter morphology was dominant. A green emission band centred at 510 nm was dominant in the cathodoluminescence spectrum of the nanowires.

Pure Boron Nitride Nanowires Produced from Boron Triiodide
Yong Jun Chen, Hong Zhou Zhang, Ying Chen
Nanotechnology 17 (2006) 786–789

A thick layer of pure boron nitride (BN) nanowires with a uniform diameter of 20 nm was synthesized using a CVD process with a new precursor BI3 for the first time via a new nitriding reaction between boron triiodide and ammonia at 1100ºC. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a nanocrystalline structure in BN nanowires and absence of any catalyst particle. Some BN nanowires self-assembled into long threads up to several hundred micrometers on top of the thick nanowire layer. The new nitriding reaction and lack of catalyst suggest new formation mechanism of BN nanowires.

Fluoride-assisted synthesis of mullite (Al5.65Si0.35O9.175) nanowires
Yongjun Chen, Bo Chi, Qiuxiang Liu, Denise C. Mahond and Ying Chen
Chemical Communications, 2006, 2780–2782

Abstract:

Novel silicon-deficient mullite (Al5.65Si0.35O9.175) single crystal nanowires were synthesized in large quantities on mica substrates assisted by the intermediate fluoride species. The nanowires have diameters in the range 50–100 nm and typical lengths of several mm. Aligned nanowires were observed at the substrate edge. The nanowires have strong photoluminescence (PL) emission bands at 310, 397, 452 and 468 nm.

Substitution Reactions of Carbon Nanotubes Template
Chi Pui Li,Ying Chen and John Fitz Gerald
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 88, 223105 (2006)

Abstract:

Substitution reactions between carbon nanotube (CNT) template and SiO produce carbon rich silicon oxide nanowires (SiO-C-NWs) which have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The reaction was carried out by thermal annealing at 1200 °C for 1 hour of a mixture of silicon monoxide (SiO) and iron (II) phthalocyanine, FeC32N8H16 (FePc) powders. Multiwalled CNTs were produced first via pyrolysis of FePc at a lower temperature (1000 °C). SiO vapors reacted with the CNTs at higher temperatures to produce amorphous SiO-C-NWs with a uniform diameter and a length in tens of micrometers. The special bamboo-like structure of the CNTs allows the reaction to start from the external surface of the tubes and transform each CNT into a solid nanowire section by section.