Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of amorphous SiOx nanowires

Silicon oxide nanowires (SiONWs) have been synthesized on a Si substrate by the vapor transport reaction using pure silicon (99.99%) powder as the Si source with the help of a Au catalyst synthesized by chemical methods. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations show that the amorphous SiONWs have lengths up to several tens of micrometers and diameters of ca. 20 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) analysis reveals that the SiONWs consist of Si and O elements in an atomic ratio of approximately 1: 1.2. The formation process of these nanowires is closely related to the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism. A blue light emission was observed which could be attributed to neutral oxygen vacancies formed in the nanowires.