Influence of Reaction Conditions and Catalyst Support in the Synthesis of Silicon Nanowires by Decomposition of Silane on Gold

Several methods have been reported in the literature for the synthesis of silicon nanowires (SiNW) [1,2]. Among these, the most widely used has been chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [3, 4]. Gold has been generally used in this process because the Au-Si system has a low eutectic temperature and with a silicon–rich eutectic composition. As a consequence, the synthesis process can take place at temperatures lower than those required by laser ablation or thermal evaporation. However, most CVD nanowire synthesis procedures reported in the literature have focused on flat substrates, over which catalytic particles have been deposited. However, these methods would not be amenable to the development of a continuous process and they would not be suitable for large-scale synthesis. The use of small metal particles dispersed on a highsurfacearea support opens the possibility of producing large amounts of SiNW, using continuous processes that are similar to conventional catalytic processes, such as ethylene polymerization.