Growth of tungsten oxide nanorods with carbon caps

Hybrid nanostructures consisting of tungsten oxide nanorods with mushroom-shaped carbon caps were grown on electrochemically etched tungsten tips by thermal chemical vapor deposition with methane and argon. These nanorods grow along the radial direction and are very straight and smooth. Electron microscopy revealed a dominant diameter and length of approximately 50 nm and approximately 0.6 microm, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) revealed the presence of crystalline monoclinic W18O49 in the nanorods, and the cap was entirely amorphous carbon. A plausible growth mechanism involves the reduction of tungsten oxide WO3, present on the tungsten surface, by methane at 900 degrees C.