Abstract
(Figure Presented) The top seed: Various metal nanocrystals are studied as crystallization seeds for silicon and germanium nanowires. The wires are grown by decomposing silane or germane reactants in supercritical organic solvents. Co and Ni nanocrystals promote the seeding of high-quality nanowires and catalyze reactant decomposition under the reaction conditions. © 2006 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.