Growth of One-Dimensional Metal Oxide Nanostructures by Direct Oxidation: Control of the Morphology and Structure of Metal Oxides by Atomic Oxygen Radicals

The objectives of this project are as follows,1.Growth of metal oxide nanowires will be carried out by direct oxidation of metal nanoparticles using highly-active atomic oxygen free radicals produced by vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) lamp radiation.2.The oxidation behaviors of metal nanoparticles (such as oxidation rate, growth direction of the metal oxide) by atomic oxygen will be investigated.One-dimensional metal oxide nanomaterials are promising as one of the key materials of optoelectronic devices and sensors, especially for flexible electronics in the future. In this 2-year project, we will develop a direct oxidation technique for growth of indium oxide nanowires (In2O3-NWs) on glass substrates. In the first year, we are going to study growth of In2O3-NWs by direct oxidation of indium nanoparticles on substrates by atomic oxygen produced using 172 nm VUV light, and investigate the influence of atomic oxygen free radicals on the oxidation behaviors. The mechanism of NW growth will be proposed by analysis of physical properties (microstructure and optical properties) of as-grown nanowires. In the second year, we will take a further step to fabricate In2O3-NWs by different atomic oxygen species. Furthermore, we will optimize process parameters for NW growth, in doing so the morphology and microstructure of In2O3-NWs are expected to be well-controlled.