Formation of indium nitride nanorods within mesoporous silica SBA-15

We report the first formation of arrays of InN nanorods inside the nanoscale channels of mesoporous silica SBA-15. In(NO3)(3) dissolved in methanol was incorporated into SBA-15 powder without prior pore surface functionalization. Formation of InN nanorod arrays was carried out by ammonolysis at 700 degrees C for 8 h. The final products have been characterized by FT-IR spectra, Si-29 MAS NMR spectra, Raman spectra, XRD patterns, TEM images, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm measurements, and optical spectroscopy. The freestanding InN nanorods observed after silica framework removal with HF solution show diameters of 6-7.5 nm and lengths of 25-50 nm. Formation of a trace amount of ln(2)O(3) was also verified. The InN nanorods exhibit a broad band centered at around 550-600 nm, and a band gap energy of 1.5 eV was determined. No light absorption in the near-IR region was measured. The nanorods give a weak emission band centered at around 600 nm. These optical properties are believed to be related to the possible incorporation of oxygen during InN nanorod synthesis.