Effect of cation intercalation on the growth of hexagonal WO₃nanorods

Li Chen, Saiwei Lam, Qinghua Zeng, Rose Amal, Aibing Yu

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    76 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The growth mechanism of hexagonal tungsten oxide (h-WO₃) nanorods is investigated using molecular dynamics simulation. The results show that cation intercalation has a great impact on the formation of h-WO₃nanorods, reflected from the attractive interaction between the growth species (polytungstate anion, W10O32⁴¯) and crystal faces of (001) and (100). In particular, an appropriate amount of intercalated cations not only accelerate the crystal growth but also induce the formation of one-dimensional nanostructure of h-WO₃ nanorods along the direction of [001]. An excess of intercalated cations would be unfavorable to the evolution of rod shape. Ammonium ion (NH₄⁺) is found to be the most stable in a hexagonal tunnel, hence being effective in inducing the 1D morphology of h-WO₃. The main findings from the simulations are also verified by experiments.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)11722-11727
    Number of pages6
    JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
    Volume116
    Issue number21
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • ammonium ions
    • cation intercalation
    • crystal face
    • growth mechanisms
    • hexagonal tungsten oxide
    • hexagonal tunnels
    • molecular mechanics
    • nanorods
    • nanostructure
    • positive ions
    • tungsten compounds

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