Synthesis and characterization of crystalline carbon nitride nanowires

Carbon nitride nanowires were synthesized by thermal nitridation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in a horizontal tube furnace. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images revealed the large-scale formation of nanowires. Selected-area electron diffraction images and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that the as-synthesized nanowires grow preferentially along the [110] direction, with diameters of 15 to 100 nm and lengths from several tens of micrometers to several millimeters. Here, the growth mechanism of these nanowires is proposed.