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Controlled growth of highly aligned amorphous SiOx sunflower-like morphology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Xitian Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
Zhuang Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
Zhi Zheng
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
Suikong Hark*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
*
b)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Highly aligned nanowire bundles were controllably fabricated through the reaction of Si with oxygen, using molten Ga and Au as catalysts. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the bundles have the ability to self-assemble into various morphologies, a few of which, including one that strikingly resembles a sunflower, were not reported before. Examinations of the bundles by transmission electron microscopy show that they contain fine, amorphous SiOx nanowires, with x ranging from 1.2 to 1.5. In the sunflower-like morphology, highly packed bundles form the disc florets and loosely packed bundles around the rim of the disc form the ray florets. We have studied the conditions under which the sunflower-like morphology could be obtained and suggest a possible mechanism for its growth. Room-temperature cathodoluminescence spectra of the nanowire bundles show that they emit an intense broad-band light covering the entire visible range.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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References

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