Fabrication and photoluminescence of SiO2-sheathed semiconducting nanowires: the case of ZnS/SiO2

We report a simple and general approach for the preparation of SiO 2 -sheathed semiconducting nanowires. We provide conclusive evidence to illustrate the growth mechanism of SiO 2 -sheathed semiconducting nanowires by taking ZnS/SiO 2 nanocables as an example. ZnS/SiO 2 nanocables were synthesized via a thermal evaporation process. The growth of the nanocables is initiated by the formation of ZnS nanowires, and the subsequent (most possibly by a synergic way) formation of the SiO 2 sheath. The results revealed that the ZnS/SiO 2 nanocables consisted of ZnS nanowires as the core and SiO 2 as the sheath. The photoluminescence measurements showed that the ZnS/SiO 2 nanocables had strong visible-light emission bands located at 460 and 592 nm, which were attributed to the surface state of the ZnS nanowires and the defects induced by SiO 2 sheaths, respectively.