Growth, structure and electrical conduction of WO3 nanorods

We present a very simple method to obtain tungsten trioxide nanorods. The nanorods are epitaxially grown on a mica substrate in low supersaturation conditions. Investigations of morphology, crystallographic structure and chemical composition of the nanorods allow us to propose a growth model in which the potassium ions of the substrate play a major role inducing the one-dimensional structure. The nanorod growth is initiated by the formation of a hexagonal tungsten bronze (HTB) epitaxially oriented on the mica. By using a conductive atomic force microscopy technique, we characterise the electrical conduction of WO₃ networks.