Effect of catalyst nanoparticle size on growth direction and morphology of InN nanowires

Au-assisted growth of InN nanowires (NWs) was accomplished by a simple chemical vapor deposition system. The as-prepared InN NWs exhibit two morphologies with different growth directions: periodic NWs (PNWs) and smooth NWs (SNWs) along <0001> and $ <\!\! 11\bar 20\! >$<112¯0>, respectively. The PNWs with crinoids morphology resulted when larger Au particles (∼40 nm in diameter) were used, while the SNWs with smooth sidewalls were obtained when smaller Au particles (∼10 nm in diameter) served as the collector. Furthermore, the mechanism of this growth behavior was discussed in terms of the effect of catalyst nanoparticle size.