Enhanced field emission of Au nanoparticle-decorated SiC nanowires

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) nanostructures are considered as an excellent candidate for field emitters, owning to their versatile superior properties. The field emission with a low turn-on field (E_to) is crucial and highly desired for their practical application. In the present study, SiC nanowires (SiCNWs) were grown on carbon fabrics via the pyrolysis of a polymeric precursor, followed by surface decoration with Au nanoparticles by a sputtering process. The characterizations of their field emission (FE) properties revealed that the Au nanoparticle-decorated SiC nanowires exhibit remarkably enhanced FE performances. Compared to those of the bare counterparts (i.e., without the Au nanoparticle decoration), the E_to of Au decorated SiCNWs was decreased drastically from 2.10 to 1.14 V μm⁻¹. The field enhancement factor (β) of the Au decorated SiCNWs was ca. 6244 ± 50, which is nearly 6 times that of the bare counterparts. The enhanced FE behaviors were mainly attributed to the synergistically increased β and decreased Φ of the SiCNWs induced by Au decoration.