Synthesis of Single-Crystalline Silicon Nitride (α-Si3N4) Nanowires with Controlled Diameters by Nitriding Cryomilled Nanocrystalline Silicon Powder

Abstract

AbstractIn the present work, silicon nitride nanowires (SNNWs) have been synthesized via nitriding cryomilled nanocrystalline silicon powder. The silicon powder exhibits a fine polycrystalline structure after the cryomilling process, with an average grain size of 25 to 125 nm at various cryomilling times. The SNNWs that form after the nitridation of the cryomilled silicon powder exhibit single crystal structure and are 20 to 100 nm in diameter and ∼10 µm in length. The diameter of the nanowires is in agreement with the grain size of the cryomilled Si powder. Microstructural characterization reveals that the as-synthesized nanowires have a hexagonal structure and their primary growth direction is along the [0001] direction. The formation of the Si–N–Si bond during the cryomilling process, as investigated theoretically with density functional theory, promotes the subsequent synthesis of the α-Si3N4 nanowires. The mechanism for nanowire formation appears to be a vapor-solid (VS) reaction.