2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
Fundamental Study of Germanium Nanowire Growth and Deposition
The growth of individual Ge nanowires on ultramicroelectrodes (UMEs) through the electrochemical liquid-liquid-solid (ec-LLS) crystal growth mechanism was studied. Ge nanowires have become an emerging area of study with the growing interest in semiconductor nanowires for battery anode applications. The formation and development of individual micro- and nanowires was studied to improve understanding of Ge crystal behavior and growth from liquid metal electrodes. Previous work in the Maldonado lab has observed the nanowires exhibiting a coil-like structure and eutectic gallium-indium cap. We thoroughly characterized the shape, structure, and length of Ge nanowires grown from Pt and Cu ultramicroelectrodes dipped in eutectic gallium-indium using optical and electron microscopes. Understanding of the fundamental behavior of Ge nanowire growth can be applied to improve efficacy and promote the appearance of desired characteristics (e.g. length and thickness) when growing Ge nanowires at larger scales.