Synthesis of crystalline boron nanoribbons and calcium hexaboride nanowires by low pressure chemical vapor deposition

Low pressure chemical vapor deposition was used to synthesize crystalline boron nanoribbons of 16 nm thickness by both uncatalyzed and nickel-catalyzed pyrolysis of diborane at relatively low temperatures. The nanoribbons were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Similar procedures were used to synthesize and characterize calcium hexaboride nanowires. The nanostructures reported here are compared with recent literature results for boron nanoribbons and CaB6 nanowires grown by the same method.