Synthesis and Characterization of Tungsten Suboxide W_nO_3n−1 Nanotiles

Abstract

WnO3n−1 nanotiles, with multiple stoichiometries within one nanotile, were synthesized via the chemical vapour transport method. They grow along the [010] crystallographic axis, with the thickness ranging from a few tens to a few hundreds of nm, with the lateral size up to several µm. Distinct surface corrugations, up to a few 10 nm deep appear during growth. The {102}r crystallographic shear planes indicate the WnO3n−1 stoichiometries. Within a single nanotile, six stoichiometries were detected, namely W16O47 (WO2.938), W15O44 (WO2.933), W14O41 (WO2.928), W13O38 (WO2.923), W12O35 (WO2.917), and W11O32 (WO2.909), with the last three never being reported before. The existence of oxygen vacancies within the crystallographic shear planes resulted in the observed non-zero density of states at the Fermi energy.

Keywords

• tungsten oxides
• nanotiles
• nanomaterials