Abstract:

This work focuses on the synthesis of silicon and tin sulfide nanowires using floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD). Suspended in the gas phase, one-dimensional inorganic nanoparticles, such as nanotubes and nanowires, rapidly grow to hundreds of microns within seconds, enabling their direct assembly into freestanding network materials. This process continuously converts gas precursors into aerosols, aerogels, and, eventually, macroscopic nanotextiles. By assembling nanoparticles with high aspect ratios, this method has produced high-performance structural materials, transparent conductors, and battery anodes. However, only seven materials have been synthesized via FCCVD. Recent reports indicate that over 70 materials grown by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism are potential candidates for 1D nanostructure synthesis using this technique. Our studies aim to make FCCVD a universal route for nanowire network synthesis by expanding the chemical library and improving the understanding of gas-phase growth mechanisms.”