Long silicon nitride nanowires synthesized in a simple route

Abstract

Long silicon nitride (Si3N4) nanowires with high purity were synthesized by heating mixtures of SiO2 powders and short carbon fibers at 1430°C for 2 h in a flowing N2 atmosphere. The nanowires had the length of 1-2 millimeters and the diameters of 70-300 nm, and were mainly composed of α-Si3N4, growing along the [001] direction. The vapor-solid (VS) mechanism was employed to interpret the nanowires growth. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.