Tracking the catalyzed growth process of nanowires by in situ x-ray diffraction

Quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures of silicon, oxides, and other materials show great promise for a variety of applications. These nanostructures are commonly grown using metal catalyst nanoparticles. This paper investigates the growth mechanism of Au-catalyzed Si nanowires through in situ x-ray diffraction, and the results are compared to previously studied Au-catalyzed ZnO nanorods. The Si nanowires were found to grow from molten catalyst particles, however, the ZnO nanorods were found to grow from solid catalyst particles through a surface diffusion process. From this comparison, the relative bonding types of the catalyst and source material are determined to have a significant effect on the growth mechanism.