Large-scale synthesis of single-crystal molybdenum trioxide nanobelts by hot-wire chemical vapour deposition

Abstract Bulk quantities of molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO 3 ) nanobelts were synthesized via hot wire chemical vapor deposition on the surface of the MoSi 2 rod electric heater at 600 °C under air atmosphere. The MoO 3 nanobelts grown on each MoSi 2 rod were up to 20 g in weight. The possible vapor–solid growth mechanism was discussed. Before the growth of MoO 3 nanobelts, SiO 2 protective layers of MoSi 2 rod electric heater were deoxidized by the carbothermal reduction reaction, and Mo 2 C was formed on the surface of the MoSi 2 rods. When Mo 2 C was oxidized under air atmosphere, Mo O vapor was deposited on the hot MoSi 2 rod surface to form yellow MoO 3 nanobelts. The hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique is desirable for the large-scale production of MoO 3 nanomaterials.