Fabrication and characterization of nanotubular semiconductor oxides In2O3 and Ga2O3

Hollow nanotubes comprised of In2O3 and Ga2O3 have been successfully synthesized for the first time via sol-gel chemistry and porous alumina templating thereby providing a new morphology for these important semiconductor oxides. The nanotubes are characterized by SEM, XRD and XPS, and the length (typically tens of microns) and outside and inside diameter (of the order of 100 nm) can be varied by selecting the template dimensions and sol immersion time. This new morphology with a large surface area may be important in applications ranging from gas sensors to optoelectronic nanodevices.