Synthesis of single-crystalline silver sulfide nanowires by diffusion in porous anodic aluminium oxide template

Highly ordered single-crystalline silver sulfide (Ag₂S) nanowires have been successfully achieved directly using silver nitrate and thioacetamide (TAA) as the reactants, by diffusion in the channels of anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membrane. The products have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results of the research show that the as-prepared Ag₂S nanowires are monodisperse with sizes of about 50 nm in diameter, closely corresponding to the pore size of the AAO membrane. Furthermore, its photoluminescence properties and the growth mechanism are also discussed.     

Ultrafast growth of single-crystalline Si nanowires

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have been catalytically synthesized by heat treatment of Si nanopowder at 980 °C. The SiNWs comprise crystalline Si nanoparticles interconnected with metal catalyst. The formation mechanism of nanowires generally depends on the presence of Fe catalysts in the synthesis process of solid–liquid–solid (SLS). Although gas phase of vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) method can be used to produce various of different nanowire materials, growth model based on the SLS mechanism by heat treatment is more ascendant for providing ultrafast growth of single-crystalline Si nanowires and controlling the diameter of them easily. The growth of single-crystalline SiNWs and morphology were discussed.     

High capacity Li ion battery anodes using ge nanowires

Ge nanowire electrodes fabricated by using vapor-liquid-solid growth on metallic current collector substrates were found to have good performance during cycling with Li. An initial discharge capacity of 1141 mA.h/g was found to be stable over 20 cycles at the C/20 rate. High power rates were also observed up to 2C with Coulombic efficiency > 99%. Structural characterization revealed that the Ge nanowires remain intact and connected to the current collector after cycling. Nanowires connected directly to the current collector have facile strain relaxation and material durability, short Li diffusion distances, and good electronic conduction. Thus, Ge nanowire anodes are promising candidates for the development of high-energy-density lithium batteries.     

Magnetic properties of single-crystalline CoSi nanowires

We have observed unusual ferromagnetic properties in single-crystalline CoSi nanowire ensemble, in marked contrast to the diamagnetic CoSi in bulk. High-density freestanding CoSi nanowires with B20 crystal structure are synthesized by a vapor-transport-based method. The reaction of cobalt chloride precursor with a Si substrate produces high-aspect-ratio CoSi nanowires. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction studies reveal superlattice structure in CoSi nanowires with twice the lattice parameter of simple cubic CoSi lattice. The zero-field-cooled and field-cooled (ZFC-FC) measurements from the nanowire ensemble show freezing of the disordered surface spins at low temperatures. The magnetoresistance (MR) measurements of single nanowire devices show a negative MR whose magnitude gets larger at lower temperatures.     

Unveiling the formation pathway of single crystalline porous silicon nanowires

Porous silicon nanowire is emerging as an interesting material system due to its unique combination of structural, chemical, electronic, and optical properties. To fully understand their formation mechanism is of great importance for controlling the fundamental physical properties and enabling potential applications. Here we present a systematic study to elucidate the mechanism responsible for the formation of porous silicon nanowires in a two-step silver-assisted electroless chemical etching method. It is shown that silicon nanowire arrays with various porosities can be prepared by varying multiple experimental parameters such as the resistivity of the starting silicon wafer, the concentration of oxidant (H(2)O(2)) and the amount of silver catalyst. Our study shows a consistent trend that the porosity increases with the increasing wafer conductivity (dopant concentration) and oxidant (H(2)O(2)) concentration. We further demonstrate that silver ions, formed by the oxidation of silver, can diffuse upwards and renucleate on the sidewalls of nanowires to initiate new etching pathways to produce a porous structure. The elucidation of this fundamental formation mechanism opens a rational pathway to the production of wafer-scale single crystalline porous silicon nanowires with tunable surface areas ranging from 370 to 30 m(2) g(-1) and can enable exciting opportunities in catalysis, energy harvesting, conversion, storage, as well as biomedical imaging and therapy.     

Layered Li0.88[Li0.18Co0.33Mn0.49]O2 nanowires for fast and high capacity Li-Ion storage material

Layered Li0.88[Li0.18Co0.33Mn0.49]O2 nanowires are prepared using Co0.4Mn0.6O2 nanowires and lithium nitrate as precursors at 200 degrees C via a hydrothermal method for fast and high capacity Li-ion storage material. The obtained nanowires exhibit a reversible capacity of 230 mAh/g between 2 and 4.8 V, even at the high current rate of 3600 mA/g.     

Magnetic-field-assisted solvothermal growth of single-crystalline bismuth nanowires

The magnetic-field-assisted approach has been used in the shape-controlled synthesis of single Bi nanocrystals. By tuning the magnetic field strength in the solvothermal process, Bi nanowires with dimension of 40-200?nm and lengths up to tens of micrometers were synthesized. Various techniques such as x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry have been used to characterize the products obtained. The results show that the magnetic field plays a key role in the crystal growth of the Bi nanowires. All nanowires were highly oriented single crystals with the growth direction along the c-axis.     

On-demand production of hydrogen by reacting porous silicon nanowires with water

On-demand hydrogen generation is desired for fuel cells, energy storage, and clean energy applications. Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been reported to generate hydrogen by reacting with water, but these processes usually require external assistance, such as light, electricity or catalysts. Herein, we demonstrate that a porous SiNWs array, which is fabricated via the metal-assisted anodic etching (MAAE) method, reacts with water under ambient and dark conditions without any energy inputs. The reaction between the SiNWs and water generates hydrogen at a rate that is about ten times faster than the reported rates of other Si nanostructures. Two possible sources of enhancement are discussed: SiNWs maintain their high specific surface area as they don’t agglomerate, and the intrinsic strain of the nanowires promotes the reactivity. Moreover, the porous SiNWs array is portable, reusable, and environmentally friendly, yielding a promising route to produce hydrogen in a distributed manner.

     

Amine-assisted synthesis of FeS@N-C porous nanowires for highly reversible lithium storage

Iron sulfide is an attractive anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high specific capacity, environmental benignity, and abundant resources. However, its application is hindered by poor cyclability and rate performance, caused by a large volume variation and low conductivity. Herein, iron sulfide porous nanowires confined in an N-doped carbon matrix (FeS@N-C nanowires) are fabricated through a simple amine-assisted solvothermal reaction and subsequent calcination strategy. The as-obtained FeS@N-C nanowires, as an LIB anode, exhibit ultrahigh reversible capacity, superior rate capability, and long-term cycling performance. In particular, a high specific capacity of 1,061 mAh·g^?1 can be achieved at 1 A·g^?1 after 500 cycles. Most impressively, it exhibits a high specific capacity of 433 mAh·g^?1 even at 5 A·g^?1. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the synergistic effect of the porous nanowire structure and the conductive N-doped carbon matrix. These results demonstrate that the synergistic strategy of combining porous nanowires with an N-doped carbon matrix holds great potential for energy storage.

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Quantatitive assessment of enzyme immobilization capacity in porous silicon

Immobilized enzyme systems are important in a broad range of applications, from biological sensing to the industrial-scale biocatalytic synthesis of chiral products. We demonstrate the ability to systematically vary and quantitatively assess the immobilization capacity of porous silicon thin films for the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase in a manner predicted by a simple geometric model of the porous silicon matrix. We find that the immobilization capacity quantatitively correlates with systematic changes in the device thickness. These results are significant since, despite the wide range over which porous silicon morphology and surface area can be varied, few attempts have been made to systematically characterize surface binding capacity. Our findings suggest that porous silicon can be an ideal matrix, where immobilization of a predictable quantity of biological material is desired.     

Synthesis and optical properties of ZnTe single-crystalline nanowires

Single-crystalline ZnTe nanowires with the zincblende structure have been synthesized on silicon (Si) substrates via a vapor phase transport method. The ZnTe (99.99%) powders were used as the source, and 10 nm-thick thermal evaporated gold (Au) film was used as the catalyst. The as-prepared ZnTe nanowires have diameters of 30-80 nm and lengths of more than 10 microm. The products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Optical properties of these nanowires were investigated by room-temperature Raman scattering spectrum and temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements. The results show that the as-prepared ZnTe nanowires are of high crystal quality.     

Orientation-enhanced growth and optical properties of ZnO nanowires grown on porous silicon substrates

ZnO nanowires have been synthesized on porous silicon substrates with different porosities via the vapour-liquid-solid method. The texture coefficient analysed from the XRD spectra indicates that the nanowires are more highly orientated on the appropriate porosity of porous silicon substrate than on the smooth surface of silicon. The Raman spectrum reveals the high quality of the ZnO nanowires. From the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra, we deduced the activation energies of free and bound excitons.     

Promoted growth of Bi single-crystalline nanowires by sidewall-induced compressive stress in on-film formation of nanowires

To increase the density of Bi nanowires grown by our unique on-film formation of nanowires (OFF-ON) method, we introduced a technique for enhancing compressive stress, which is the driving force for the nanowire growth. The compressive stress could be controlled by modifying the substrate structure. A combination of photolithography and a reactive ion etching technique was used to fabricate patterns on a thermally oxidized Si(100) substrate. It was found that the density of Bi nanowires grown from Bi films in 100 x 100 microm2-sized SiO2 patterns increases by a factor of seven over that from non-patterned substrates. Our results indicate that the density of Bi nanowires can be increased by enhanced compressive stress arising from a sidewall effect in the optimized pattern size and array.     

Formation of uniform single-crystalline bismuth sulfide nanowires under mixed-solvent condition

Uniform single-crystalline bismuth sulfide nanowires were prepared via a convenient solvothermal route under mixed-solvent condition. The nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry and UV-vis spectrophotometer. The growth mechanism of the one-dimensional nanostructures was discussed. The optical absorption band gap of the nanowires is about 1.7 eV, and the blue-shift phenomenon can be observed with respect of that of the bulk Bi2S3, which might bring in new types of applications.     

Fabrication of vertically stacked single-crystalline Si nanowires using self-limiting oxidation

A simple method for fabricating vertically stacked single-crystal silicon nanowires on standard bulk silicon wafers is presented. The process uses inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching to create silicon fins with uneven yet controllable vertical profiles. The fins are then thermally oxidized in a self-limiting process, and the narrow regions are completely consumed to create multiple nanowires vertically stacked on each other. It was found that the number of nanowires in the vertical stack depends on the number of ICP cycles. A mechanism for the formation of the nanowires is proposed and confirmed with numerical simulations.     

Structural and optical properties of single-crystalline ultraviolet-emitting needle-shaped ZnO nanowires

Well-crystallized with excellent optical properties, needle-shaped ZnO nanowires have been synthesized on silicon substrate in a high density via the thermal evaporation of metallic zinc powder without the use of catalysts or additives. Extensive structural analysis showed that the grown nanowires are highly crystalline with the wurtzite hexagonal phase, grown along the [0001] in the c-axis direction. The presence of an optical-phonon E₂ mode in Raman spectrum at 437 cm^{− 1} and sharp and strong UV emission at 379 nm with no green emission in the room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum confirms good crystallinity with the excellent optical properties for the deposited nanowires.     

Electronic transport mechanism and photocurrent generations of single-crystalline InN nanowires

Nanodevices using individual indium nitride nanowires are fabricated by e-beam lithography. The nanowires have diameters of 40-80?nm, lengths up to several tens of micrometres and single-crystalline nature. We observed ohmic I-V behaviour of InN nanowires above nearly 100?K, which is consistent with the pinning Fermi level of the metal electrode near the conduction band edge of InN nanowire. At low temperatures, the device shows typical semiconductor behaviour along with a quantum tunnelling effect through the Schottky barrier rather than thermally activated transport. The activation energy calculated above and below 80?K is 28.2 and 5.08?meV, respectively. We have also fabricated a photocurrent generation device using InN nanowires. The photocurrent of an acceptor-sensitizer dyad with di-(3-aminopropyl)-viologen (DAPV) and a Ru complex on an InN nanowires/ITO plate was 8.3?nA?cm(-2), which increased by 62.7% compared to that without InN nanowire layers.     

Al-doped single-crystalline SiC nanowires synthesized by pyrolysis of polymer precursors

Al-doped 6H-SiC nanowires are synthesized by catalyst-assisted pyrolysis of polymer precursors. The obtained nanowires were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and selective area electron diffraction. We demonstrate that doping concentrations can be controlled by tailoring the Al concentrations in the precursors. We also find that Al-doping has a profound effect on the morphology and emission behavior of the SiC nanowires. The current results suggest a simple technique for synthesizing Al-doped SiC nanomaterials in a controlled manner, which are promising for applications in optical and electronic nanodevices.     

Influence of SnO2 coating and annealing on the luminescence properties of porous silicon nanowires

Porous silicon (PS)-core/SnO₂-shell nanowires (NWs) were synthesized by a two step process: electrochemical anodization of silicon followed by atomic layer deposition of SnO₂. The photoluminescence spectrum of the PS nanowires showed a broad blue green emission band centered at approximately 510 nm. PL measurement also showed that the blue green emission was enhanced by SnO₂ coating and enhanced further by thermal annealing. It appeared that annealing in a reducing atmosphere was more efficient in increasing the blue green emission intensity than annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that the enhancement in the blue green emission by annealing in a reducing atmosphere was attributed to the formation of Sn interstitials in the PS cores due to the dissociation of the SnO₂ shells followed by the diffusion of the Sn atoms, generated as a result of the dissociation of SnO₂, into the PS cores during the annealing process.