Preparation of α-Si3N4 nanorods assembled nanobelts by crystallizing amorphous Si3N4 powders

Abstract

In this paper, a new nanomaterial, α-Si3N4 nanobelts assembled by high density nanorods were prepared via the crystallization of amorphous Si3N4 at 1450 °C for 12 h. The as-synthesized nanobelts exhibited a width of ∼900 nm and a thickness of ∼150 nm, and a depressed linear region in the central. α-Si3N4 nanorods on the nanobelts had a width of 8–16 nm and a length of 400–450 nm. The nanorods were single-crystal, growing along (101) plane. The nanobelt appeared to be initiated by α-Si3N4 nanorods constantly growing on the both sides of a nanowire which was caused by secondary nucleation and the growth of Si3N4 microcrystals. Growth mechanism related to the formation of the nanobelts was analyzed in detail on the basis of vapor-solid mechanism and secondary nucleation. The current work would provide new insights into α-Si3N4 nanobelts assembled by nanorods which play an important role in nanoscale devices and show widespread potential applications due to their special morphology.