Preparation of Si/O/C nanotubes using Ge nanowires as template

The silicon oxycarbide Si/O/C nanotubes were prepared by two-step procedure. First, a nanostructure deposit mainly composed of nanocables with germanium core was synthetized by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) using hexamethyldigermane Ge2Me6 and 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane (Me2SiH)2NH as the volatile precursors. Second, LPCVD was followed by annealing at 850 °C in vacuum to evaporate germanium core. As a result Si/O/C nanotubes were formed. Various techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, TEM, SEM/EDX, XPS and HRTEM were used to study the physical and chemical properties.