MgO nanowire growth from Mg metal and SiO2

Comparative study on the diameter distribution of MgO nanowires has been carried out. MgO nanowires could be synthesized by the direct reaction between metallic magnesium and silica, and the obtained nanowires have diameters ranging from 50 to 200 nm and lengths of several hundreds nanometers, exhibiting a straight wire. The diameter can be downscaled to smaller than 50 nm, and the nanowire exhibits a curved and twisted one-dimensional structure with lengths up to several micrometers, when a fine support catalyst was used as the reactant. The diameter-controlled growth mechanism was also explained in this work.