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.