Direct synthesis of silicon oxide nanowires on organic polymer substrates.

A nanowire growth model assisted by polymer reconstruction was discovered and used to achieve the direct synthesis of amorphous silicon oxide nanowires (SiONWs) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates at low growth temperatures (no more than 150 degrees C) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The reconstructed polymers were generated from the scission and recombination of polymer chains on the surface of PET substrates under active Ar:O(2) plasma in the PECVD process. The highly ordered nanowire arrays exhibited an excellent geometrical configuration that is comparable to that of SiONWs grown on Si substrates at temperatures higher than 1000 degrees C by using conventional vapor deposition methods with various metal catalysts. A promising optical property-strong photoluminescence in the violet-blue spectral range at room temperature-was detected in the nanowires. This might lead to breakthroughs in the fabrication of electronic and optical nanoscale devices on flexible polymer substrates.