Large-scale silica nanowire array grown on liquid tin and its applications as Hg (II) scavenger

Silica (SiO2) nanowire array has been prepared in large scale through thermal evaporation of SiO via oxide-assisted growth on Sn substrate. During growth the Sn substrate became a liquid, whose fluid surface induced the growth of SiO2 (from SiO disproportionation) into an aligned nanowire array on Sn surface. The liquid Sn itself further served as the solvent to dissolve elemental Si produced from SiO disproportionation. The high-density nanowire array is a type of microporous silica with a large surface area, which can serve as an efficient absorbent for scavenging heavy metal ions such as Hg (II) from water after surface modification with mercapto groups (-SH). (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.