BORON NANOWIRES AND NOVELTUBE–CATALYTIC PARTICLE–WIREHYBRID BORON NANOSTRUCTURES

Abstract

Catalyst-assisted growth of boron nanowires and novel tube–catalytic particle–wire hybrid boron nanostructures were achieved by pyrolysis of diborane at 820–890°C and ~ 200 mTorr in a quartz tube furnace. Electron microscopy imaging and diffraction analysis reveal that most of the nano-structures are amorphous. Elemental analysis by EELS and EDX shows that the nanostructures consist of boron with a small amount of oxygen and carbon. Possible growth mechanisms for the tube–catalytic particle–wire hybrid boron nanostructures are discussed.