Synthesis of ultralong ZnSe nanowires with CuSe nanoparticle catalysts method

The ultralong ZnSe nanowires were successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method on silicon substrates using Zn and CuSe nanoparticles as material and catalysts, respectively. The microstructures and morphologies of as-prepared nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the product is ZnSe nanowires with length of 0.35-0.70 mm and the mole ratio of Zn to Se is 1:0.97. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of as-prepared ZnSe nanowires show strong excitonic emission at around 439 nm under 325 nm excitation wavelength at room temperature, which indicates that the ZnSe nanowires have good crystal quality. Under the redox effects, the growth mechanism of ZnSe nanowire accords with the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process, and Cu₃Zn alloy is the growth catalyst.