Synthesis and growth mechanism of Mn-doped nanodot embedded silica nanowires

Highlights: • Mass production of Mn-doped nanodot embedded SiONWs (Mn-SiONWs) were achieved by a simple method of thermal evaporation. • A plausible growth mechanism was proposed by considering the catalytic role of SiO and Ostwald Ripening process during the growth. • Quantitative simulation was then performed to understand the narrow size distribution of the Mn-rich nanodots. -- Abstract: Mass production of manganese-doped silica nanowires (Mn-SiONWs) have been achieved by a simple method of thermal evaporation of SiO and Mn powders. Tunneling electron microscope studies reveal manganese silicide nanodots with an average diameter of 3.52 nm embedded in the SiONWs. Based on the characterizations of the novel microstructures, a plausible growth mechanism for the Mn-SiONWs was proposed by considering the catalytic role of SiO and Ostwald Ripening process during the growth. Quantitative simulation was then performed to understand the narrow size distribution of the nanodots, and the critical radius about 1 nm for the nanodot formation was obtained. Finally, the photoluminescence properties and their relationship with the microstructures were studied.