InP nanowires from surfactant-free thermolysis of single molecule precursors

Indium phosphide nanofibres were grown from a single-molecule precursor, [(PhCH2)2InP(SiMe3)2]2, using hot injection techniques by a solution–liquid–solid (SLS) process, under “surfactant-free” conditions and without the use of protic additives. The fibres are 85–95 nm in diameter and grow from In metal droplets of 100 nm diameter. The length of the nanofibres is a function of the precursor injection temperature (rather than the growth temperature) and can be varied from 6000 nm at 210 °C to 1000 nm at 310 °C. The indium metal tip can be readily removed under mild, non-etching conditions by treatment with thiophenol–P(SiMe3)3 mixtures.