title: β-Sialon nanowires, nanobelts and hierarchical nanostructures: morphology control, growth mechanism and cathodoluminescence properties.
abstract: Morphology control of one dimension (1D) nanomaterials is a pivotal issue in the field of nanoscience research to exploit their novel properties. Herein, we report the morphology controlled synthesis of 1D β-Sialon nanowires, nanobelts and hierarchical nanostructures via a thermal-chemical vapour deposition process using an appropriately selected catalyst and optimized temperature schedule. Vapour-solid (VS), a combination of vapour-liquid-solid (VLS)-based and VS-tip, and a combination of VS for one-generation nanowires with nucleation, growth and coalescence of two-generation nanobranches (NGCB) are used to explain the growth of β-Sialon nanowires, nanobelts and hierarchical nanostructures, respectively. Cathodoluminescence measurements show that the individual β-Sialon 1D nanostructures with different morphologies have different luminescent properties. All nanostructures exhibit two distinct emission peaks, the violet/blue emission centered at ~390 nm (3.18 eV), attributable to the near band edge (NBE) emission, and the red emission centered at ~728 nm (1.70 eV), assigned to the deep level (DL) emission. However, the DL emission is the ruling emission in the case of an individual β-Sialon nanowire, whereas the NBE emission becomes dominant in the case of an individual nanobelt as well as a hierarchical nanostructure due to the size and surface effects. The as-synthesized β-Sialon with controlled nanostructures and various morphologies can find potential applications in future nanodevices with tailorable or tunable photoelectric properties.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, P. R. China. huang118@cugb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Juntong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zhaohui
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authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yangai
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authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Minghao
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authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Kai
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authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yaoting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Saifang
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authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Haipeng
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authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Jingzhou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaowen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shaowei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang