Phase-controlled growth of metastable Fe5Si3 nanowires by a vapor transport method.

We report the synthesis of single-crystalline nanowires (NWs) of metastable Fe5Si3 phase via an iodide vapor transport method. Free-standing Fe5Si3 NWs are grown on a sapphire substrate placed on a Si wafer without the use of any catalyst. The typical size of the Fe5Si3 nanowires is 5-15 microm in length and 100-300 nm in diameter. Synthesis of the metastable phase is induced by composition-dependent nucleation from the gas-phase reaction. Depending on the concentration ratio of FeI2(g) to SiI4(g), different phases of iron silicides are formed. The growth of nanowires is facilitated by the initial nucleation of silicide particles on the substrate and further self-seeded growth of the NWs. The present work not only provides a method for the synthesis of metastable Fe5Si3 nanowires but also suggests that the phase controlled synthesis can be further optimized to produce other metal-rich silicide nanostructures for future spintronic devices.