Synthesis of beta-gallium oxide nanobelts through microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

Beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) nanobelts were synthesized through microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) of liquid-phase gallium containing H2O in Ar atmosphere using silicon as the substrate. Unlike the common microwave plasma method, the H2O, not mixture of the gas, was employed to synthesize the nanostructures. β-Ga2O3 nanobelts prepared by MPCVD have not been reported. The thickness of β-Ga2O3 nonobelts was 20–30 nm and length of them was tens to hundreds of microns. The morphology and structure of the products were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Possible growth mechanisms of the β-Ga2O3 nanobelts are briefly discussed.