Large-area highly oriented SiC nanowire arrays have been fabricated by chemical vapor reaction using an ordered nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and a graphite reaction cell. Their microstructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the nanowires are single-crystalline beta-SiC's with diameters of about 30-60 nm and lengths of about 8 microm, which are parallel to each other, uniformly distributed, highly oriented, and in agreement with the nanopore diameter of the applied AAO template. The nanowire axes lie along the [111] direction and possess a high density of planar defects. Some unique optical properties are found in the Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence emission from oriented SiC nanowire arrays, which are different from previous observations of SiC materials. The growth mechanism of oriented SiC nanowire arrays is also analyzed and discussed.
We report the growth of ultrathin single-crystal ZnO nanobelts by using a Ag-catalyzed vapor transport method. Extensive transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy measurements reveal that the thickness of the ultrathin ZnO nanobelts is approximately 2 nm. Scanning electron microscopy and post-growth annealing studies suggest a '1D branching and 2D filling' growth process. Our results demonstrate the critical role of catalyst in the deterministic synthesis of nanomaterials with the desired morphology. In addition, these ultrafine nanobelts exhibit stable field emission with unprecedented high emission current density of 40.17 mA cm(-2). These bottom-up building blocks of ultrathin ZnO nanobelts may facilitate the construction of advanced electronic and photonic nanodevices.
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