Silicon-silica nanowires, nanotubes, and biaxial nanowires: inside, outside, and side-by-side growth of silicon versus silica on zeolite.

It was demonstrated that zeolite can be used as a pseudo-template to grow very fine and uniform silicon nanostructures via disproportionation reaction of SiO by thermal evaporation. Three distinct types of composite nanowires and nanotubes of silicon and silica were grown on the surfaces of zeolite Y pellets. The first type is formed by an ultrafine crystalline silicon nanowire sheathed by an amorphous silica tube (a silicon nanowire inside a silica nanotube). The second type is formed by a crystalline silicon nanotube filled with amorphous silica (a silicon nanotube outside a silica nanowire). The third type is a biaxial silicon-silica nanowire structure with side-by-side growth of crystalline silicon and amorphous silica. These silicon nanostructures exhibit unusually intense photoluminescence (in comparison to ordinary silicon nanowires).