Ga₂O₃ nanowires prepared by physical evaporation

Gallium oxide nanowires (GaONWs) were obtained by evaporation from a bulk gallium target. The GaONWs, with mean diameter around 60 nm, are of monocrystalline nature with length up to 100 μm, and identified to be monoclinic Ga₂O₃ with space group of C2/m. The growth of the GaONWs is not controlled by the well-known vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, instead they are seemingly grown via a vapor-solid (VS) process, in which the structural defects play an important role both during the nucleation and the preferable axial growth of the wires. Understanding such a growth process would be helpful in the synthesis of other quasi one-dimensional nanostructures.