title: Enhanced photoluminescence in Au-embedded ITO nanowires.
abstract: Gold (Au)-embedded indium tin oxide (ITO) nanowires were synthesized by thermal evaporation of a mixture of In(2)O(3,) SnO(2) and graphite powders on Si (100) substrates coated with Au thin films followed by annealing. At the initial stages of annealing, Au formed a continuous linear core located along the long axis of each ITO nanowire. The morphology of the Au core changed from a continuous line to a discrete line, and then to a droplet-like chain, finally evolving into a peapod in which crystalline Au nanoparticles were encapsulated in crystalline ITO with increasing annealing temperature. The ITO nanowires with the Au core showed an emission band at ~380 nm in the ultraviolet region. The ultraviolet emission intensity increased rapidly with increasing annealing temperature. The intensity of emission from the Au-peapod ITO nanowires (annealed at 750 °C) was approximately 20 times higher than that of the emission from the Au-core/ITO-shell ITO nanowires with a continuous linear shaped-Au core (annealed at 550 °C). This ultraintense ultraviolet emission might have originated mainly from the enhanced crystalline quality of the annealed ITO nanowires.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Inha University, 253 Yonghyeon-dong, Incheon 402-751, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sunghoon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Changhyun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Chongmu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D049449:Luminescence; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D017971:Tin Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D017971:Tin Compounds; C109984:indium tin oxide; D006046:Gold