Semiconductor nanowires with precisely controlled structure, and hence well-defined electronic and optical properties, can be grown by self-assembly using the vapour-liquid-solid process. The structure and chemical composition of the growing nanowire is typically determined by global parameters such as source gas pressure, gas composition and growth temperature. Here we describe a more local approach to the control of nanowire structure. We apply an electric field during growth to control nanowire diameter and growth direction. Growth experiments carried out while imaging within an in situ transmission electron microscope show that the electric field modifies growth by changing the shape, position and contact angle of the catalytic droplet. This droplet engineering can be used to modify nanowires into three dimensional structures, relevant to a range of applications, and also to measure the droplet surface tension, important for quantitative development of strategies to control nanowire growth.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12271 | DOI Listing |
Materials (Basel)
January 2025
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Microelectronics and Semiconductors Institute, Mailbox 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia.
With growing environmental concerns and the need for sustainable energy, multifunctional materials that can simultaneously address water treatment and clean energy production are in high demand. In this study, we developed a cost-effective method to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires via the anodic oxidation of zinc foil. By carefully controlling the anodization time, we optimized the Zn/ZnO-5 min electrode to achieve impressive dual-function performance in terms of effective photoelectrocatalysis for water splitting and waste water treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFerroelectric polarization is considered to be an effective strategy to improve the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of photoelectrocatalysis. The primary challenge is to clarify how the polarization field controls the OER dynamic pathway at a molecular level. Here, electrochemical fingerprint tests were used, together with theoretical calculations, to systematically investigate the free energy change in oxo and hydroxyl intermediates on TiO-BaTiO core-shell nanowires (BTO@TiO) upon polarization in different pH environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
School of Electronics Science and Engineering/National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Ultrathin silicon nanowires (diameter <30 nm) with strong electrostatic control are ideal quasi-1D channel materials for high-performance field effect transistors, while a short channel is desirable to enhance driving current. Typically, the patterning of such delicate channels relies on high-precision lithography, which is not applicable for large area electronics. In this work, we demonstrate that ultrathin and short silicon nanowires channels can be created through a local-curvature-modulated catalytic growth, where a planar silicon nanowires is directed to jump over a crossing step.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
January 2025
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637000, PR China. Electronic address:
A bead-chain metal-organic framework composite was designed and synthesized by assembling a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) onto manganese dioxide (MnO) nanowires. The prepared catalyst MnO@ZIF-X (X = 1, 2 and 3) was used to facilitate gatifloxacin (GAT) degradation by using potassium peroxymonopulfate (PMS) as an activator. MnO@ZIF-2 exhibited excellent catalytic performance, achieving 100 % degradation of GAT (10 mg/L) in the presence of PMS (1 mM) in 15 min, and the toxicity of the majority of degradation intermediates decreased.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatl Sci Rev
February 2025
Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Shanghai Key Lab of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Department of Materials Science, Academy for Engineering & Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
The design and fabrication of high-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials are essential in developing electronic communication technology for defense and civilian applications. These materials function by interacting with EMWs, creating various effects such as polarization relaxation, magnetic resonance, and magnetic hysteresis in order to absorb EMWs. Significant progress has been made to improve the dimensional performance of such materials, emphasizing the 'thin, light, broad, and strong' functional specifications.
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