Long silicon nitride nanowires synthesized in a simple route

Long silicon nitride (Si3N4) nanowires with high purity were synthesized by heating mixtures of SiO2 powders and short carbon fibers at 1430°C for 2 h in a flowing N2 atmosphere. The nanowires had the length of 1–2 millimeters and the diameters of 70–300 nm, and were mainly composed of ⍺-Si3N4, growing along the [001] direction. The vapor–solid (VS) mechanism was employed to interpret the nanowires growth.