Reassembling of Ni and Pt catalyst in the vapor–liquid–solid growth of GaN nanowires

Abstract The growth of GaN nanowires on sapphire substrates coated with Ni or Pt catalyst was investigated to address their behavior in a vapor–liquid–solid mechanism. Our observations revealed that both the two catalysts, which led to the growth of nanowires, behave rather complex, including diffusion and re-agglomeration from the coated films to the surface of the micro crystals that is formed in an early stage of growth by vapor–solid mechanism. GaN nanowires have a diameter and length of ~100 nm and several tens of micrometers, respectively, and tend to align epitaxially on the facets of the micro crystals.