Morphology-controlled growth of chromium silicide nanostructures and their field emission properties

Abstract

A convenient in situ chloride-generated route was pursued to synthesize chromium silicide (CrSi₂) nanomaterials in this study, and the influence of growth conditions on the morphologies of CrSi₂ products was examined in an optimized growth apparatus. Various morphologies of CrSi₂ including nanowire bundles, nanobelts and cattail hassock-like microdisks have been controllably synthesized through the concentration regulation of gaseous Cr and Si sources on the nucleation and growth stages by changing the growth temperature and the precursor diffusion manner. The morphological evolution of CrSi₂ nanostructures could be attributed to the growth habits of the CrSi₂ crystal under different conditions as well as the electrostatic interactions among their exposed polar faces on the basis of the experimental results. The field emission behavior of the CrSi₂ nanostructures shows low turn-on fields of 3.6–5.3 V μm⁻¹ at an anode–cathode distance of 400 μm, suggesting their potential application in field emission devices.