Catalyst-assisted epitaxial growth of ferromagnetic TiO2/TiN nanowires

Abstract We report a novel method of growth for single-crystalline TiO2/TiN nanowires through oxidation of epitaxial TiN nanowires on Si-SiO2 (amorphous) and c-sapphire (crystalline) as practical substrates. We propose that the laser ablated Ti and N diffuse into molten Au to form TiN nanodots where the growth rate of nanowires is directly proportional to the laser ablation flux due to high diffusion in molten Au. The TiN nanowires were grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition method using Au as a catalyst. The TiN nanowires were then oxidized to create TiO2/TiN core-shell nanowires. The growth of TiO2 (rutile) occurs by domain matching epitaxy paradigm in such a way that (002) planes of the TiO2 match with (200) plane of TiN, where the TiO2 thickness can be tuned by adjustment of oxidation time and temperature. This design provides a core-shell structure of TiO2/TiN nanowires integrated with silicon and sapphire substrates. The Rutile TiO2 nanowires show ferromagnetic behavior, while the as-grown TiN exhibits diamagnetic behavior. The SEM, TEM, and EBSD are used to characterize the microstructure and atomic alignments of TiO2 nanowires. The simple method of oxidation combined with tunable magnetic properties provides benefits to many smart applications where the magnetic field can be used as an external stimulation.