Preparation and properties of cobalt oxides coated carbon fibers as microwave-absorbing materials

Cobalt oxides/carbon fibers (CoO_x/CFs) composites were synthesized by thermal oxidation of cobalt coated carbon fibers (Co/CFs). The scanning electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction pattern indicate that the layers are about 0.7 μm and composed of Co₃O₄ and CoO (CoO_x), the preferred condition for preparation of CoO_x/CFs composites is to anneal Co/CFs precursors at 350 °C for 3 h in air. The coercivity, saturation magnetization and residual magnetization of the CoO_x/CFs composites are 464.8 Oe, 10.62 emu/g and 2.21 emu/g, respectively. The reflectivity of cobalt oxides coated carbon fibers (1.11-5.12 mm in thickness) is less than −10 dB over the working frequency range of 4.04-18.00 GHz and less than −20 dB over 11.54-14.77 GHz. The lowest reflectivity is −45.16 dB at 13.41 GHz when the thickness is 1.50 mm.     

Fabrication and magnetic properties of metallic nanowires via AAO templates

Metallic (Ni, Co, Cu and Fe) nanowires were fabricated by electrodeposition into anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. In this work, we have studied the effect of the electrode potential on the microstructure and magnetic properties of nanowires. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the metal nanowires were single-crystal. Cu and Ni nanowires had the same orientation along the [2 2 0] direction, while Co had a preferred orientation along the [1 0 0] direction. Fe nanowires had a preferred orientation along the [2 0 0] direction. The growth mechanisms are probably due to the competition growth of the adjacent grains and the confinement of growth in the nano-sized hole of the AAO template. Results showed that single crystal or highly textured nanowires had better magnetic properties compared with that of polycrystal nanowires in terms of coercivity and squareness.     

Crystal orbital study on the combined carbon nanowires constructed from linear carbon chains encapsulated in zigzag double-walled carbon nanotubes

This work has presented first-principle self-consistent field crystal orbital studies of combined carbon nanowires (CNWs) consisted of linear carbon chains encapsulated in zigzag double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs). The geometrical structures, relative stabilities and electronic properties of CNWs made of DWCNTs and single-walled carbon nanotubes are investigated and compared in details. As adding second outer tube, enhanced stabilities of the CNWs made of DWCNTs are detected from viewpoint of energies. The calculated band structures show that all CNWs studied are metals with zero energy gap. It is found that the atomic density of the carbon chain and the size of the tube are important to modulate the electronic properties of the CNWs. Since chemical bonding is not formed among the constitute parts of CNWs, the interaction among the subsections are analyzed based on orbital hybridization and charge transfer, which both play the leading roles on the energies and band structures of the CNWs. The computed charge carrier mobility of encapsulated carbon chain is much larger than that of the free carbon chain, reaches 10⁵–10⁶ cm² V⁻¹ at room temperature. The filling carbon chain can be considered as one of the narrowest one-dimensional electronic nanowires covered by outer DWCNT. Moreover, the elastic properties of CNWs are studied based on the results of Young's modulus.     

Formation of CuO nanowires by thermal annealing copper film deposited on Ti/Si substrate

Nanowires of various inorganic materials have been fabricated due to the realization of their applications in different fields. Large-area and uniform cupric oxide (CuO) nanowires were successfully synthesized by a very simple thermal oxidation of copper thin films. The copper films were deposited by electron beam evaporation onto Ti/Si substrates, in which Ti film was first deposited on silicon substrate to serve as adhesion layer. The structure characterization revealed that these nanowires are monoclinic structured single crystallites. The effects of different growth parameters, namely, annealing time, annealing temperature, and film thickness on the fabrication of the CuO nanowires were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. A typical procedure simply involved the thermal oxidation of these substrates in air and within the temperature range from 300 to 700 °C. It is found that nanowires can only be formed at thermal temperature of 400 °C. It is observed that the growth time has an important effect on the length and density of the CuO nanowires, whereas the average diameter is almost the same, i.e.50 nm. Different from the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) and vapor-solid (VS) mechanism, the growth of nanowires is found to be based on the accumulation and relaxation of the stress.     

Large-scale synthesis and characterization of SiC nanowires by high-frequency induction heating

SiC nanowires were synthesized in large quantity by heating SiO and activated carbon fibers without metal catalysts. The morphologies of product were studied by SEM and TEM and it indicated that the SiC nanowires obtained at the bottom of the activated carbon fibers surfaces were coated by an amorphous silicon oxide layer and the core of SiC nanowires were measured, typically as about 8-20 nm in diameter, while in situ formed nanotree-bud network, Y-junction and the “S” shape nanostructure were observed in those SiC nanowires obtained at the up of the activated carbon fibers surfaces. These SiC/SiO₂ heterostructure, particularly novel 2-D heterostructure, would be expected as important blocks in building nanodevices and as reinforcement in advanced composites.     

Field emission from nonaligned SiC nanowires

β-SiC nanowires with an average diameter of 8-20 nm were synthesized using a simple thermal evaporation of SiO powders onto activated carbon fibers. Field emission was investigated based on the SiC nanowires deposited on a platinum film. A low turn-on field of 3.1-3.5 V μm⁻¹ was measured at an anode-sample separation of 100-140 μm. This type of SiC nanowires can be applied as field emitters in displays as well as vacuum electronic devices.     

Enhanced field emission and patterned emitter device fabrication of metal-tetracyanoquinodimethane nanowires array

Ag(TCNQ) and Cu(TCNQ) nanowires were synthesized via vapor-transport reaction method at a low temperature of 100 °C. Field emission properties of the as-obtained nanowires on ITO glass substrates were studied. The turn-on electric fields of Ag(TCNQ) and Cu(TCNQ) nanowires were 9.7 and 7.6 V/μm (with emission current of 10 μA/cm²), respectively. The turn-on electric fields of Ag(TCNQ) and Cu(TCNQ) nanowires decreased to 6 and 2.2 V/μm, and the emission current densities increased by two orders at a field of 8 V/μm with a homogeneous-like metal (e.g. Cu for Cu(TCNQ)) buffer layer to the substrate. The improved field emission is due to the better conduct in the nanowires/substrate interface and higher internal conductance of the nanowires. The patterned field emission cathode was then fabricated by localized growing M-TCNQ nanowires onto mask-deposited metal film buffer layer. The emission luminance was measured to be 810 cd/m² at a field of 8.5 V/μm.     

Effects of gas pressure and plasma power on the growth of carbon nanostructures

Effects of gas pressure and plasma power on the growth of carbon-based nanostructures (CNSs) have been studied in detail. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) and carbon nanowalls (CNWs) were synthesized on glass substrates via radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RFPECVD) technique. Surface morphologies of the films have been studied by SEM and TEM. When the gas pressure increases from 120 to 300 Pa, the deposited carbon material changes from MWCNTs to carbon nanowalls (CNWs). Additionally, the density of carbon nanostructures increases with the gas pressure. The radio frequency (RF) plasma power ranging from 600 to 2400 W was applied during the activation and deposition process. The plasma enhances the decomposition of carbon atoms to deposit onto the surfaces of catalyst particles. Whereas an exorbitant RF plasma power can destroy the already deposited carbon nanostructures.     

Large-area aligned CuO nanowires arrays: Synthesis,anomalous ferromagnetic and CO gas sensing properties

Thermal evaporation was carried out in a horizontal quartz tube under an oxygen flow of about 50 ml/min and the influence of reaction time and temperature on the microstructure of the CuO nanowires (CNWs) is examined. The magnetic susceptibilities of the as-synthesized CNWs in the 5–300 K range were studied. It is interesting to note that the CNWs with a much larger diameter than 10 nm exhibit anomalous ferromagnetic behavior which has never been reported previously, demonstrating the effect of their peculiar morphology. The saturation magnetization (MS) and coercive field (Hc) of CNWs grown at 700 °C are 2.39 × 10^?4 emu and 48 Oe, respectively. We fabricated gas sensors based on p-type single CNWs and demonstrate that CuO nanowires could be a promising candidate for a gas sensor with good performance. The reaction between the reducing gas and O^? leads to a decrease of the hole density in the surface charge layer and an increase of the CuO resistance.     

Synthesis and characterization of GaN nanowires by ammoniating Ga2O3/Cr thin films deposited on Si(1 1 1) substrates

GaN nanowires have been successfully synthesized on Si(1 1 1) substrates by magnetron sputtering through ammoniating Ga₂O₃/Cr thin films at 950 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FT-IR spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum were carried out to characterize the microstructure, morphology, and optical properties of GaN samples. The results demonstrate that the nanowires are single-crystal GaN with hexagonal wurtzite structure and high-quality crystalline, have the size of 30-80 nm in diameter and several tens of microns in length with good emission properties. The growth direction of GaN nanowires is perpendicular to the fringe of (1 0 1) plane. The growth mechanism of GaN nanowires is also discussed in detail.     

Ytterbium on vicinal Si(1 0 0): Growth and properties of the 2D wetting layer and the Yb silicide phase

The Yb growth on a vicinal Si(1 0 0) surface has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction in the coverage range of 1-4 ML. Two different methods of the Yb/Si(1 0 0) interface formation are applied, leading to a remarkable modification of structural and morphological properties of two-dimensional (2D) wetting layer and Yb silicide phase. In particular, the switchover of the 2D layer orientation, similar to the case of the Bi nanolines on Si(1 0 0) [J.H.G. Owen, K. Miki, D.R. Bowler, J. Mater. Sci. 41 (2006) 4568], is observed depending on the growth procedure. Moreover, the structure and morphology of the Yb silicide phase is found to depend critically on the growth conditions, and the ability to grow very long, unidirectional Yb silicide nanowires is demonstrated. The results obtained are discussed in the context of the previous studies of 1D nanowires and 3D islands of rare-earth silicides on Si(1 0 0).     

Synthesis of crystalline SrMoO4 nanowires from polyoxometalates

Crystalline SrMoO₄ nanowires were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process at 180 °C for 10 h. α-(NH₄)₆-P₂Mo₁₈O₆₂·nH₂O, one of polyoxometalates with Dawson structure, was employed as the source of molybdates. The diameter and length of the obtained SrMoO₄ nanowires are about 20 nm and 5-10 μm, respectively. HRTEM results show that the SrMoO₄ nanowires are of high crystallinity with rough surface. However, when Na₂MoO₄·2H₂O was used, there are only SrMoO₄ nanorods with smaller aspect ratio (200/70 nm) in the similar hydrothermal process. The probable growth mechanism was discussed.     

Magnetic layer thickness dependence of magnetization reversal in electrodeposited CoNi/Cu multilayer nanowires

The magnetization reversal of electrodeposited CoNi/Cu multilayer nanowires patterned in an array using a hole template has been investigated. The reversal mode is found to depend on the CoNi layer thickness t(CoNi); with increasing t(CoNi) a transition occurs from coherent rotation to a combination of coherent and incoherent rotation at around t(CoNi)=51 nm. The reversal mode has been identified using the magnetic hysteresis loops measured at room temperature for CoNi/Cu nanowires placed at various angles between the directions of the nanowire axis and external fields using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The nanowire samples have a diameter of ∼250 nm and constant Cu layer thickness of 4.2 nm with various t(CoNi) ranging from 6.8 nm to 7.5 μm. With increasing t(CoNi), the magnetic easy axis moves from the direction perpendicular to nanowires to that parallel to the nanowires at around t(CoNi)=51 nm, indicating a change in the magnetization reversal mode. The reversal mode for the nanowires with thin disk-shaped CoNi layers (t(CoNi)=6.8, 12 and 17 nm) is of a coherent rotation type, while that for long rod-shaped CoNi layers (t(CoNi)=150 nm, 1.0, 2.5 and 7.5 μm) can be consistently explained by a combination of coherent rotation and a curling mode. The effects of dipole–dipole interactions between nanowires and between adjacent magnetic layers in each nanowire on the reversal process have been discussed.     

Composited BCN/carbon fibers prepared by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition

The combined BCN/carbon fibers with porous configuration have been successfully prepared by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HF-CVD). The composited materials consist of carbon fiber inside covered by the cylindrical BCN films. The differences in the surface morphology and the diameter of the composite fibers are related to the different reactant gases. It is demonstrated that the elements of B, C, and N are chemically bonded with atomic-level BCN hybrid in the composite fibers. The resistance of the composite fibers is about 300 Ω which is 10 times higher than that of the isolated carbon fibers (27.5 Ω). When the applying voltage increases up to 8-15 V, the BCN films have been broken down and the resistance of composite fibers decreases to the typical value of the carbon fibers. The composite fibers with porous configuration have the strongly capacity to adsorb oxygen. The findings suggest that the combined BCN/carbon fibers are favorable for achieving high performance nano-optoelectronic and sensor devices.     

The electrochemical preparation and microwave absorption properties of magnetic carbon fibers coated with Fe3O4 films

Electrodeposition was employed to fabricate magnetite (Fe₃O₄) coated carbon fibers (MCCFs). Temperature and fiber surface pretreatment had a significant influence on the composition and morphology of Fe₃O₄ films. Uniform and compact Fe₃O₄ films were fabricated at 75 °C on both nitric acid treated and untreated carbon fibers, while the films prepared at 60 °C were continuous and rough. Microwave measurements of MCCF/paraffin composites (50 wt.% of MCCFs, pretreated carbon fibers as deposition substrates) were carried out in the 2-18 GHz frequency range. MCCFs prepared at 60 °C obtained a much higher loss factor than that prepared at 75 °C. However, the calculation results of reflection loss were very abnormal that MCCFs prepared at 60 °C almost had no absorption property. While MCCFs prepared at 75 °C exhibited a good absorption property and obtained −10 dB and −20 dB refection loss in wide matching thickness ranges (1.0-6.0 mm and 1.7-6.0 mm range, respectively). A secondary attenuation peak could also be observed when the thickness of MCCF/paraffin composite exceeded 4.0 mm. The minimum reflection loss was lower.     

Synthesis and field emission properties of GaN nanowires

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires grown on nickel-coated n-type Si (1 0 0) substrates have been synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the field emission properties of GaN nanowires have been studied. The results show that (1) the grown GaN nanowires, which have diameters in the range of 50-100 nm and lengths of several micrometers, are uniformly distributed on Si substrates. The characteristics of the grown GaN nanowires have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and through these investigations it was found that the GaN nanowires are of a good crystalline quality (2) When the emission current density is 100 μA/cm², the necessary electric field is an open electric field of around 9.1 V/μm (at room temperature). The field enhancement factor is ∼730. The field emission properties of GaN nanowires films are related both to the surface roughness and the density of the nanowires in the film.     

Investigation of oxygen states and reactivities on a nanostructured cupric oxide surface

Nanostructured copper (II) oxide was formed on clean copper foil at room temperature using activated oxygen produced by RF discharge. CuO particles of approximately 10-20 nm were observed on the surface by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). The copper states and oxygen species of the model cupric oxide were studied by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). These oxide particles demonstrated abnormally high reactivity with carbon monoxide (CO) at temperatures below 100 °C. The XPS data showed that the interaction of CO with the nanostructured cupric oxide resulted in reduction of the CuO particles to Cu₂O species. The reactivity of the nanostructured cupric oxide to CO was studied at 80 °C using XPS in step-by-step mode. The initial reactivity was estimated to be 5 × 10⁻⁵ and was steadily reduced down to 5 × 10⁻⁹ as the exposure was increased. O1s spectral analysis allowed us to propose that the high initial reactivity was caused by the presence of non-lattice oxygen states on the surface of the nanostructured CuO. We established that reoxidation of the partially reduced nanostructured cupric oxide by molecular oxygen O₂ restored the highly reactive oxygen form on the surface. These results allowed us to propose that the nanostructured cupric oxide could be used for low temperature catalytic CO oxidation. Some hypotheses concerning the nature of the non-lattice oxygen species with high reactivity are also discussed.     

The formation mechanism of the coaxial carbon-metal nanowires in a chemical vapor deposition process

In the synthesis of carbon nanotubes from ethylene decomposition by a Fe/Mo/Al₂O₃ catalyst at 823 K, the long and continuous coaxial carbon-metal nanowires up to 540 nm is observed. And for the first time, it is observed that the coaxial carbon-metal nanowires can grow in tip and base growth mode simultaneously. A detailed formation mechanism is proposed, where the aggregation of metal particles, lift-up of nanotubes obeying different growth modes and the deformation of metal particles by nanotubes are considered as the necessary steps for the formation of the nanowires.     

Electromagnetic wave absorption properties of Fe3C/carbon nanocomposites prepared by a CVD method

Dendrite-shaped iron nanowires with 50-200 nm in diameter and 10-20 μm in length were prepared by the CVD method from Fe(CO)₅ as a starting source. Ethanol was cracked on the surface of the resultant iron nanowires to form the Fe₃C/carbon nanocomposites, in which nanosized carbon beads covered the surface of Fe₃C. Resin compact of the resultant Fe₃C/carbon nanocomposites had excellent electromagnetic wave absorption ability in the range of 0.9-9.0 GHz, and such available absorption range more enhanced compared to that observed on the resin compact prepared from the original iron nanowires by the hybridization of magnetic (Fe₃C) and dielectric (carbon) materials.     

Fabrication and characterization of CuO-core/TiO2-shell one-dimensional nanostructures

We have fabricated CuO-core/TiO₂-shell one-dimensional nanostructures by coating the CuO nanowires with MOCVD-TiO₂. The structure of the core/shell nanowires has been investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis techniques. The CuO-cores and the TiO₂-shells of the as-synthesized nanowires have been found to have crystalline monoclinic CuO and crystalline tetragonal anatase TiO₂ structures, respectively. The CuO-core/TiO₂-shell nanowires are winding and has rougher surface, whereas the CuO nanowires are straight and have smoother surface.Influence of the substrate temperature and the growth time on the structure such as the morphology, size, and crystallographic orientation of CuO nanowires synthesized by thermal oxidation of Cu foils have also been investigated. All the nanowires have only the CuO phase synthesized at 600 °C, whereas those synthesized at 400 °C have both CuO and Cu₂O phases. The highest density of CuO nanowires with long thin straight morphologies can be obtained at 600 °C. In addition, the growth mechanism of the CuO nanowires has been discussed.