Synthesis of TiC nanowires on porous ZrSiO4 substrate and their field emission properties

• TiC nanowires grown on porous ceramic ZrSiO4 with high aspect ratio were prepared.
• Field emission abilities of TiC emitter on porous ceramic substrate were studied.
• Better field electron emission performances were achieved.

Titanium carbide (TiC) nanowires have been successfully synthesized on porous ZrSiO4 ceramic substrate via infiltrating and a chloride-assisted carbothermal reduction. In this process, the phenolic resol, tetrabutyl titanate and NaCl were used as precursors and Ni(NO3)2·6H2O as a catalyst. On the basis of the structural, morphological and elemental analyses characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction, a chloride-assisted vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism was proposed. The results also indicated that the TiC nanowires with a typical diameter around 300 nm and a length up to several microns have a face-centered cubic structure. Field emission properties of TiC–ZrSiO4 as cathode follow the conventional Fowler-Nordheim behavior and exhibit a low turn-on field of about 6.9 V/μm.