Field emission properties and growth mechanism of In2O3 nanostructures.

Bing Wang,Huanyu Wu,Lianfeng Zhu,Zhaoqiang Zheng

doi:10.1186/1556-276x-9-111

Bing Wang, Huanyu Wu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1556-276x-9-111

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Abstract

Four kinds of nanostructures, nanoneedles, nanohooks, nanorods, and nanotowers of In2O3, have been grown by the vapor transport process with Au catalysts or without any catalysts. The morphology and structure of the prepared nanostructures are determined on the basis of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The growth direction of the In2O3 nanoneedles is along the [001], and those of the other three nanostructures are along the [100]. The growth mechanism of the nanoneedles is the vapor-liquid–solid (VLS), and those of the other three nanostructures are the vapor-solid (VS) processes. The field emission properties of four kinds of In2O3 nanostructures have been investigated. Among them, the nanoneedles have the best field emission properties with the lowest turn-on field of 4.9 V/μm and the threshold field of 12 V/μm due to possessing the smallest emitter tip radius and the weakest screening effect.

Highlights

IntroductionRecent reports show that reducing the size of In2O3 to a nanoscale gives it various morphologies, such as wires/ belts, cubes, octahedrons, and bamboos [3,4,5,6,7]
Indium oxide (In2O3) is a wide-band-gap semiconducting oxide that has been used for transparent conducting oxides because of its high conductivity and transparency [1,2,3].Recent reports show that reducing the size of In2O3 to a nanoscale gives it various morphologies, such as wires/ belts, cubes, octahedrons, and bamboos [3,4,5,6,7]
The morphology and structure of the prepared nanostructures are determined on the basis of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Summary

Introduction

Recent reports show that reducing the size of In2O3 to a nanoscale gives it various morphologies, such as wires/ belts, cubes, octahedrons, and bamboos [3,4,5,6,7]. The nanostructures of In2O3 have been paid considerable attention due to their esthetic morphologies [6], novel characteristics, and important potential applications in various nanodevices [8,9,10,11,12,13]. Most of the efforts were focused on the synthesis and properties of single morphology nanostructures. Research on the complex nanostructure was limited, while investigation of the synthesis and properties of complex nanostructures represented developing directions of nanoscience and nanotechnology, which have important potential applications in realizing the multiple functions of nanodevices [14]

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