Mechanism of critical catalyst size effect on MgO nanowire growth by pulsed laser deposition

The size controllability of oxide nanowires formed via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism is desired for the oxide nanowire-based device applications. However, the complex nature of oxide nanowire VLS growth has held back such size controllability. Here we demonstrate the critical size effect of a Au catalyst on MgO nanowire VLS growth by pulsed laser deposition. The presence of a critical catalyst size was found. Above such critical size, an oxide nanowire VLS growth is no longer feasible. Interestingly, such critical size increased with increasing growth temperature. The mechanism of the critical phenomenon is interpreted in terms of the catalyst size dependence on the amount of adatoms diffused from surroundings into the catalyst.