title: Surface-energy induced formation of single crystalline bismuth nanowires over vanadium thin film at room temperature.
abstract: We report high-yield room-temperature growth of vertical single-crystalline bismuth nanowire array by vacuum thermal evaporation of bismuth over a choice of arbitrary substrate coated with a thin interlayer of nanoporous vanadium. The nanowire growth is the result of spontaneous and continuous expulsion of nanometer-sized bismuth domains from the vanadium pores, driven by their excessive surface energy that suppresses the melting point of bismuth close to room temperature. The simplicity of the technique opens a new avenue for the growth of nanowire arrays of a variety of materials.
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory , Upton, New York 11973, United States.
authors.forename: Mingzhao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Chang-Yong
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kisslinger
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Su
keywords: Bismuth nanowire; single crystallinity; surface energy; thermal evaporation; vanadium