InP nanowires from surfactant-free thermolysis of single molecule precursors

Indium phosphide nanofibres were grown from a single-molecule precursor, [(PhCH(2))(2)InP(SiMe(3))(2)](2), using hot injection techniques by a solution-liquid-solid (SLS) process, under "surfactant-free" conditions and without the use of protic additives. The fibres are 85-95 nm in diameter and grow from In metal droplets of 100 nm diameter. The length of the nanofibres is a function of the precursor injection temperature (rather than the growth temperature) and can be varied from 6000 nm at 210 °C to 1000 nm at 310 °C. The indium metal tip can be readily removed under mild, non-etching conditions by treatment with thiophenol-P(SiMe(3))(3) mixtures.