Abstract
Large quantities of very thin and wide single-crystal alpha silicon nitride (α-Si3N4) nanobelts were synthesized by a vapor-solid thermal reaction between ammonia and silicon monoxide (SiO) without using any added catalyst. Scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction were used to characterize the formed nanobelts. The single-crystal α-Si3N4 nanobelts are about 800–1200 nm in width, 20–35 nm in thickness and about several tens to several hundreds of micrometers in length. The nanobelts are perfect in structure. The nanobelts grow along [011] and [100] direction. Intense visible photoluminescence (PL) occurring on the wide and thin nanobelts over a broad spectrum ranging from 420 to 750 nm was observed. The visible PL emission is related to the inherently imperfect Si and N dangling bonds in the α-Si3N4 structure.