Abstract
Colloidal nickel (Ni) nanocrystals were used to direct the synthesis of crystalline silicon (Si) nanowires in an organic solvent. The reaction temperatures ranged from 400°C to 520°C with pressures from 14.3 to 23.4 MPa, conditions that are well above the critical point of the solvent. The Ni nanocrystals play two roles in the synthesis: (1) Ni catalyzes the decomposition of the silicon precursors, i.e., arylsilanes, alkylsilanes, and trisilane, to silicon; (2) Ni nanocrystals induce silicon crystallization through the solid-phase alloying of Si in the Ni seeds. We call this nanowire growth mechanism supercritical fluid-solid-solid (SFSS) synthesis. © 2005 American Chemical Society.