One-pot fabrication of hollow SiO2 nanowires via an electrospinning technique

Hollow SiO2 nanowires (NWs) were one-pot fabricated via an electrospinning method. Their morphologies, structures, and chemical compositions were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In order to fabricate optimum hollow SiO2 NWs, the relative volume ratio of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, an alkoxide precursor) to ethanol (solvent) was systematically controlled from 0.02 to 0.36. SEM, HRTEM, XRD, and XPS results indicate that amorphous SiO2 hollow NWs can be one-pot synthesized by using the volume ratio of 0.18 under a constant voltage of 8.0 kV.