Transmutation of the Crystalline Structure of β-SiC Nanowires to an Amorphous Structure Through Cu Ion Shelling

Abstract: The amorphous structural study of silicon carbide nanowires (SiC-NWs) has drawn strenuous attention in recent years due to their worthwhile properties for wide applications, chiefly in optoelectronics. The facile transformation of crystalline SiC-NWs to amorphous defective SiC-NWs is a challenging task for their broad-scale applications. Herein, we report a fantastic strategy (by applying a 5UDH Pelletron accelerator, located at the National Centre for Physics, Islamabad, Pakistan) for Cu ion implantation (fixed at 10 MeV) on the crystalline SiC-NWs to incorporate them into an amorphous structure. For the defects study, various dose rates of Cu⁺ ion ranging from 5 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm² to 5 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm² were bombarded on SiC-NWs, and a complete transmutation to the amorphous structure of SiC-NWs under a shelling dose of 8 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm² was observed. This work will provide a better avenue for the structural deformation blueprints of the next-generation nanomaterials. Amorphous structural transformation is explained by collision cascade effects phenomena. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]