Plateau-Rayleigh crystal growth of periodic shells on one-dimensional substrates.
The Plateau-Rayleigh instability was first proposed in the mid-1800s to describe how a column of water breaks apart into droplets to lower its surface tension. This instability was later generalized to account for the constant volume rearrangement of various one-dimensional liquid and solid materials. Here, we report a growth phenomenon that is unique to one-dimensional materials and exploits the underlying physics of the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. We term the phenomenon Plateau-Rayleigh crystal growth and demonstrate that it can be used to grow periodic shells on one-dimensional substrates. Specifically, we show that for certain conditions, depositing Si onto uniform-diameter Si cores, Ge onto Ge cores and Ge onto Si cores can generate diameter-modulated core-shell nanowires. Rational control of deposition conditions enables tuning of distinct morphological features, including diameter-modulation periodicity and amplitude and cross-sectional anisotropy. Our results suggest that surface energy reductions drive the formation of periodic shells, and that variation in kinetic terms and crystal facet energetics provide the means for tunability.
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Robert W
RW
Day
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Max N
MN
Mankin
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Ruixuan
R
Gao
Department of Physics, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Republic of Korea.
You-Shin
YS
No
Department of Applied Physics, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi-do 446-701, Republic of Korea.
Sun-Kyung
SK
Kim
1] Center for Nanoscale Systems, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
David C
DC
Bell
Department of Physics, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Republic of Korea.
Hong-Gyu
HG
Park
1] Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Charles M
CM
Lieber