Received: July 8, 2007

In Final Form: September 18, 2007

Abstract:

Monoclinic gallium oxide (-Ga₂O₃) nanowires and zigzag-shaped nanostructures were synthesized successfully by heat treating the pre-prepared GaN powder at 900 C in dry nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere. The structures, morphologies, and compositions of the calcined products have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The results revealed that the as-synthesized -Ga₂O₃ nanowires and zigzag-shaped nanostuctures were pure, with high crystallinities and lengths of up to tens of micrometers. Here, The formation of diameter-modulated zigzag -Ga₂O₃ nanostructures is reported for the first time. A possible growth mechanism for the formation of different morphologies of -Ga₂O₃ is proposed. Besides, the optical property of -Ga₂O₃ was observed in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, which showed that the as-prepared product emits strong visible luminescence at 416 and 580 nm ( _ex = 250 nm).

Download the full text: PDF | HTML