Synthesis and growth mechanism of oriented amorphous SiO2 nanowires

Based on the catalytic property of gold, seemingly oriented amorphous SiO2 nanowires were synthesized by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique and annealing at 1100 °C for 40 min in the presence of a nitrogen flow using Silicon(Si) powder as the Si source. The length and diameter of nanowires growth are almost uniform, which are about 30 μm and 35 nm respectively. The growth of nanowires is consistent with vapor–liquid–solid mechanism, with Au particles being observed to remain at the tip of nanowires. They were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and photoluminescence. A sharp intensive green emission peak at around 519 nm was observed with an excitation wavelength of 325 nm;this has been ascribed to an oxygen deficiency.