SIMPLE AND CATALYST-FREE SYNTHESIS OF SILICON OXIDE NANOWIRES AND NANOCOILS

Abstract

In this paper, a simple method for synthesizing SiO x nanowires and nanocoils is presented. Si substrates with an oxide layer were placed in a tube furnace exposed to temperatures ranging from 900°C to 1200°C for a few hours under a mixture of flowing Ar and H2 gas maintained at ambient pressure. Nanowires were grown from the surface when the furnace temperature was above 1000°C and a high yield could be achieved at 1100°C. SiO x nanocoils have also been observed and the sample treated at 1000°C had the highest concentration of them. TEM images show that the nanowires and the nanocoils have an amorphous structure and analysis of EDX spectra (obtained in the TEM) shows that x varies from 1.2 to 2.0. The mechanism of growth is discussed.