title: Rational solution growth of α-FeOOH nanowires driven by screw dislocations and their conversion to α-Fe2O3 nanowires.
abstract: We report the rational synthesis of α-FeOOH (goethite) nanowires following a dislocation-driven mechanism by utilizing a continuous-flow reactor and chemical equilibria to maintain constant low supersaturations. The existence of axial screw dislocations and the associated Eshelby twist in the nanowire product were confirmed using bright-/dark-field transmission electron microscopy imaging and twist contour analysis. The α-FeOOH nanowires can be readily converted into semiconducting single-crystal but porous α-Fe(2)O(3) (hematite) nanowires via topotactic transformation. Our results indicate that, with proper experimental design, many more useful materials can be grown in one-dimensional morphologies in aqueous solutions via the dislocation-driven mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jin