Synthesis and Growth Mechanism: A Novel Fishing Rod-Shaped GaN Nanorods

A novel fishing rod-shaped GaN nanorod is successfully fabricated through a new method by using the two-step growth technology. This growth method is applicable to continuous synthesis and is able to produce a large number of single-crystalline GaN nanorods with a relatively high purity and at a low cost. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy are used to characterize the as-synthesized nanorods. The results show that most of the nanorods consist of a main rod and a top curved thread. It is single-crystal GaN with hexagonal wurtzite structure. The representative photoluminescence spectrum at room temperature exhibits a strong UV light emission band centered at 370.8 nm. Furthermore, a possible two-stage growth mechanism of the fishing rod-shaped GaN nanorod is also briefly discussed.