Synthesis, mechanism and characterization of urchin-like Ga2O3 microspheres

Abstract

An effective method without a catalyst and template was developed to synthesize novel micro/nanostructures of gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) for the first time. Urchin-like microspheres with uniformly distributed nanowires were well prepared on a Si(100) substrate by heating at 1000 °C. The product was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cathodoluminescence (CL), and was found to be monoclinic gallium oxide with a high crystalline quality and intense ultraviolet–blue CL emission properties at room temperature. Possible growth mechanism of urchin-like microspheres was proposed. The results serve to reinforce the potential of Ga₂O₃ micro/nanostructures for optoelectronic device applications.