Controlled vapor-liquid-solid growth of indium, gallium, and tin oxide nanowires via chemical vapor transport

We utilized a vapor-liquid-solid growth technique to synthesize indium oxide, gallium oxide, and tin oxide nanowires using chemical vapor transport with gold nanoparticles as the catalyst. Using identical growth parameters, we were able to synthesize single crystal nanowires typically 40-100 nm diameter and more than 10-100 mu m long. The products were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). All the wires were grown under the same growth conditions with growth rates inversely proportional to the source metal vapor pressure. Initial experiments show that different transparent oxide nanowires can be grown simultaneously on a single substrate with potential application for multicomponent gas sensors.