Surface Modification and Damage of MeV-Energy Heavy Ion Irradiation on Gold Nanowires.

Yaxiong Cheng,Jie Liu,Jinglai Duan,Huijun Yao,Lijun Xu,Pengfei Zhai,Youmei Sun,Shuangbao Lyu,Khan Maaz,Dan Mo,Yonghui Chen

doi:10.3390/nano7050108

Abstract

Gold nanowires with diameters ranging from 20 to 90 nm were fabricated by the electrochemical deposition technique in etched ion track polycarbonate templates and were then irradiated by Xe and Kr ions with the energy in MeV range. The surface modification of nanowires was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations. Different craters with and without protrusion on the gold nanowires were analyzed, and the two corresponding formation mechanisms, i.e., plastic flow and micro-explosion, were investigated. In addition, the sputtered gold nanoparticles caused by ion irradiation were studied and it was confirmed that the surface damage produced in gold nanowires was increased as the diameter of the nanowires decreased. It was also found that heavy ion irradiation can also create stacking fault tetrahedrons (SFTs) in gold nanowires and three different SFTs were confirmed in irradiated nanowires. A statistical analysis of the size distribution of SFTs in gold nanowires proved that the average size distribution of SFT was positively related to the nuclear stopping power of incident ions, i.e., the higher nuclear stopping power of incident ions could generate SFT with a larger average size in gold nanowires.

Highlights

Nanomaterials have received immense interest in recent years due to their vast applications in modern technology
We report a study of the irradiation effects on a single crystalline gold nanowire, which are fabricated electrochemically in the etched ion track templates
Gold nanowires with a single crystalline structure were electrochemically prepared in etched ion track templates and irradiated by MeV heavy ions to investigate the interaction between the heavy ion and the one-dimensional materials

Summary

Introduction

Nanomaterials have received immense interest in recent years due to their vast applications in modern technology. A number of excellent works have been carried out, which have revealed the transport process of energetic particles in solids New models such as the cascade collision, displacement spike, and thermal spike have been introduced, and these can be used to explain the damages produced in solids as a result of heavy ion irradiation [1,2]. A study on the MeV self-ion irradiation of gold nanoislands carried out by P.V. Satyam et al indicated that thermal spike confinement potentially generates craters within the gold nanoisland [11]. Gao have studied irradiation-induced SFTs below the vacancy migration temperature in metals through molecular dynamics simulation [12], which indicates that SFTs can be directly created in the energetic collision cascade. The study of irradiation-induced SFTs in face-centered cubic (FCC) metal by Schaublin et al clarifies the structure of SFTs in the metal [7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion