Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of alpha-Si3N4/SiO2 Core-Shell Nanocombs

Nanocombs composed of crystalline alpha-Si3N4 inner core and amorphous SiO2 outer shell were synthesized by a simple one-step method of direct current arc discharge without the addition of any catalysts or templates. The morphology and structure of the nanocombs were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and FTIR. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the nanocombs shows two strong emission peaks at about 450 nm and 511 nm. The growth mechanism of the alpha-Si3N4/SiO core-shell nanocombs can be considered as plasma-assisted vapor-solid mechanism.