Germanium Nanowire Synthesis from Fluorothiolate-Capped Gold Nanoparticles in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Ge nanowires seeded from Au nanoparticles capped with fluorothiolate ligands were synthesized in supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO 2 ) by the thermal decomposition of diphenylgermane (DPG) at a temperature of 380 °C and a pressure of 25.7 MPa. Both perfluorinated and semifluorinated capped Au nanoparticles acted as effective catalysts for growing Ge nanowires, with mean diameters of 11 nm (σ = 2.8) and 14 nm (σ = 3.5), respectively. The mean diameter of the Ge nanowires grown from the fluorous-capped Au nanoparticles were considerably smaller than those synthesized from dodecanethiol-capped nanoparticles in sc-toluene, under the same reaction conditions, i.e., 28 nm and σ = 10.3. Differences in the ligand conformations on the surface of the Au nanoparticles and phase separation of the fluorocarbon/CO 2 and hydrocarbon/toluene systems gave rise to greater steric stabilization of the fluorous-capped Au nanoparticles in CO 2, resulting in small diameter nanowires with a relatively narrow size distribution. Electrical analysis of the nanowires showed them to be p -type (hole) semiconductors.