Synthesis of GaN Nanorods by a Solid-State Reaction

An atom-economical and eco-friendly chemical synthetic route was developed to synthesize wurtzite GaN nanorods by the reaction of NaNH2 and the as-synthesized orthorhombic GaOOH nanorods in a stainless steel autoclave at 600 degrees C. The lengths of the GaN nanorods are in the range of 400-600 nm and the diameters are about 80-150 nm. The process of orthorhombic GaOOH nanorods transformation into wurtzite GaN nanorods was investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), indicating that the GaN product retained essentially the same basic topological morphology in contrast to that of the GaOOH precursor. It was found that rhombohedral Ga2O3 was the intermediate between the starting orthorhombic GaOOH precursor and the final wurtzite GaN product. The photoluminescence measurements reveal that the as-prepared wurtzite GaN nanorods showed strong blue emission.