Figure 1. The group’s process to produce macroscopic materials of 1D inorganic nanowires/nanotubes.

Central to the group’s research is the continuous assembly of 1D nanomaterials produced directly from the gas phase during their growth by chemical vapour deposition (Figure 1). The group has extensively worked on the use of this method for large-scale fabrication of fibres of carbon nanotubes and demonstration of their properties on the high-performance range. More recently, the group proposed that this is a universal route for the assembly of inorganic 1D nanomaterials at ultra-fast rates, and demonstrated fabrication of freestanding fabrics of silicon nanowires. The group works on the development of the first framework to describe the thermodynamics and kinetics of growth in this mode. On the experimental front, the team is developing new methods for in-situ analysis of reaction products and high-throughput strategies for accelerated materials synthesis.

Selected references

B. Mas, B. Alemán, I. Dopico, I. Martin-Bragado, T. Naranjo, E. M. Pérez, J. J. Vilatela – Group 16 elements control the synthesis of continuous fibers of carbon nanotubes. Carbon 101, 458-464, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2016.02.005

Richard S. Schäufele, Miguel Vazquez-Pufleau, Juan J. Vilatela – Tough sheets of nanowires produced floating in the gas phase. Materials Horizons 7, 2978-2984, 2020. DOI: 10.1039/D0MH00777C

Richard S. Schäufele, Miguel Vazquez-Pufleau, Afshin Pendashteh, Juan J. Vilatela – Controlling reaction paths for ultra-fast growth of inorganic nanowires floating in the gas phase. Nanoscale , 2022. DOI: 10.1039/D1NR07261G