Synthesis of β-FeSi2 nanowires by using silicon nanowire templates

Si nanowires templates were grown by a Cu-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid process and used for the preparation of β-FeSi2 nanowires on a Si substrate. The silicon nanowires were transformed into β-FeSi2 nanowires by annealing with additional source material containing FeCl2 and Si powder. In contrast to uniform Si nanowire templates along the <111> direction, the synthesized nanowires were deformed irregularly. The electron diffraction pattern of the nanowires synthesized from the template corresponded to that of single-crystalline β-FeSi2 and the longitudinal direction of the nanowire was along the <104> direction. The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the nanowire contained Fe and Si in an atomic ratio of approximately 1:2. The results confirmed that β-FeSi2 nanowires on a Si substrate were synthesized from the Si nanowire templates.