Dislocations can drive the growth of nanowires in the absence of catalysts
One-dimensional nanowires are expected to have applications in nanoelectronics, nanophotonics and biotechnology. Now Song Jin and co-workers1 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have shed new light on the growth of nanowires from crystals by producing whole forests of tiny lead sulphide structures resembling pine trees.
The researchers used chemical vapour deposition to combine lead chloride and elemental sulphur under flows of argon and hydrogen gas. The reaction produced tree-like structures of lead sulphide: the nanowires in the 'trunk' were up to a few hundred micrometres in length, and the 'branches' were a few tens of micrometres long. The branches were arranged around the trunks like a spiral staircase — a phenomenon known as an Eshelby twist.
Most nanowire growth methods used to date have required metal catalyst particles that act as seeds for growth. Jin and co-workers have shown that growth can be driven by a screw-like dislocation along the length of the nanowire without the need for any catalyst, with the branches growing slowly outwards as the trunk extends and rotates.
References
Bierman, M. J. Lau, Y. K. A. Kvit, A. V. Schmidt, A. L. & Jin, S. Dislocation-driven nanowire growth and Eshelby twist. Science 10.1126/science.1157131 (2008).
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Reid, T. Tiny trees do the twist. Nature Nanotech (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.157
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.157
