Mechanism of the growth of ZnSe nanowires with Fe catalysts

ZnSe nanowires of high optical quality have been grown with Fe catalysts at the usual temperatures for the fabrication of ZnSe-base optoelectronic devices (about 600 K). It is found that only Fe nanoparticles of 10–50 nm diameter act as catalysts in the narrow temperature range around 600 K (with a minimum temperature of 473–523 K, and a maximum temperature of 623–673 K). The growth mechanism is discussed in terms of the vapour–liquid–solid mechanism.