Propagation of amorphous oxide nanowires via the VLS mechanism: growth kinetics

This work reports the growth kinetics of amorphous nanowires (NWs) developed by the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism. The model presented here incorporates all atomistic processes contributing to the growth of amorphous oxide NWs having diameters in the 5–100 nm range. The steady state growth condition has been described by balancing the key atomistic process steps. It is found that the 2D nano-catalyst liquid and NW solid (L–S) interface plays a central role in the kinetic analysis. The balance between the 2D Si layer crystallization and oxidation rate is quantitatively examined and compared with experimental values. The atomistic process dependencies of the NW growth rate, supersaturation (C/C(0)), desolvation energy (Q(D)) barrier and NW diameter have been analyzed in detail. The model successfully predicts the reported NW growth rate to be in the range of 1–10 μm s(−1). A novel seed/catalyst metal-based synthesis strategy for the preparation of amorphous silica NWs is reported. A nickel thin film on Si is used as a seed metal for the Au assisted VLS growth of silica NWs. The experimental results provide evidence of the creation of SiO under the given conditions followed by Si injection in the Au–Si nano-catalyst solution. The usage of seed metal was observed to reduce the growth temperature compared to the methods reported in the literature and obtain similar growth rates. The technique presented here holds promise for the synthesis of sub-100 nm diameter NWs.