Liquid Gallium-Assisted Patterned Growth of β-Ga2O3 Nanowires on Metallic Foils for Photocatalytic Dye Degradation

Herein,we report a facile and effective strategy forpatternedgrowth of one-dimensional (1D) & beta;-Ga2O3 nanowires on metallic substrates, based on the alloying of liquidgallium as a precursor. To demonstrate this method, the specific patternsare painted using gallium on a metallic foil through screen printing,which produces an intermetallic phase by alloying. The subsequentthermal treatment involving the sputtering Au serves as a catalystto induce the formation of & beta;-Ga2O3 nanowireson the foil. Notably, the gallium in the intermetallic phase maintainsthe in situ growth of nanowires. Such a growth process depends onthe Au sputtering and temperature, which well follows a classicalvapor-liquid-solid mechanism. Interestingly, benefitingfrom the unique physiochemical attributes of liquid gallium, the convenientalloying facilitates the synthesis of the nanowires at a moderatelylow temperature. This synthetic approach is also universal for a seriesof metallic substrates including Ag, Cu, Ni, and Co foils, and theproduction can be scaled up easily. Furthermore, as a model catalyst,the & beta;-Ga2O3 nanowires grown on Ag foil(& beta;-Ga2O3/Ag) display good photocatalyticperformance and easy recovery in the degradation of dyes. The workprovides an avenue to prepare patterned & beta;-Ga2O3 nanowires based on liquid gallium.

Automated summary

Here, we present a facile and effective strategy for the patterned growth of one-dimensional β-Ga2O3 nanowires on metallic substrates using liquid gallium as a precursor. By screen printing gallium on a metallic foil, an intermetallic phase is formed by alloying, and subsequent thermal treatment with sputtering Au induces the formation of β-Ga2O3 nanowires on the foil. The in situ growth of nanowires is maintained by the gallium in the intermetallic phase, and the growth process follows a classical vapor-liquid-solid mechanism dependent on Au sputtering and temperature. The convenient alloying at a moderately low temperature facilitates the synthesis of nanowires, and this approach is applicable to various metallic substrates and can be scaled up easily. Moreover, the β-Ga2O3 nanowires grown on Ag foil (β-Ga2O3/Ag) exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance and can be easily recovered for dye degradation, making them a promising candidate for environmental applications.