A novel morphology of SiOx nanowires with a modified diameter

A novel morphology of SiOx (x = 1-2) nanowires was fabricated via a thermal evaporation method by heating pure silicon powder at 1373 K followed by depositing silicon vapor on a quartz-glass substrate which was coated with a catalyst precursor from a 0.005 M Fe(NO3)(3) aqueous solution. At the deposition temperature, the catalyst particles aggregated and formed quasi-plates, from which a short Si rod grew outward on one side and a great deal of SiOx nanowires projected outward on the other side, forming comet-like objects with long tails. The diameters of the nanowires gradually decreased with an increase in the distance from the catalyst plate.