Wire-in-tube structure fabricated by single capillary electrospinning via nanoscale Kirkendall effect: the case of nickel-zinc ferriteElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03330a

• Main Authors: Fu, Jiecai, Zhang, Junli, Peng, Yong, Zhao, Changhui, He, Yongmin, Zhang, Zhenxing, Pan, Xiaojun, Mellors, Nigel J, Xie, Erqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 21.11.2013
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03330a

Wire-in-tube structures have previously been prepared using an electrospinning method by means of tuning hydrolysis/alcoholysis of a precursor solution. Nickel-zinc ferrite (Ni 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 ) nanowire-in-nanotubes have been prepared as a demonstration. The detailed nanoscale characterization, formation process and magnetic properties of Ni 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 nanowire-in-nanotubes has been studied comprehensively. The average diameters of the outer tubes and inner wires of Ni 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 nanowire-in-nanotubes are around 120 nm and 42 nm, respectively. Each fully calcined individual nanowire-in-nanotube, either the outer-tube or the inner-wire, is composed of Ni 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 monocrystallites stacked along the longitudinal direction with random orientation. The process of calcining electrospun polymer composite nanofibres can be viewed as a morphologically template nucleation and precursor diffusion process. This allows the nitrates precursor to diffuse toward the surface of the nanofibres while the oxides (decomposed from hydroxides and nitrates) products diffuse to the core region of the nanofibres; the amorphous nanofibres transforming thereby into crystalline nanowire-in-nanotubes. In addition, the magnetic properties of the Ni 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 nanowire-in-nanotubes were also examined. It is believed that this nanowire-in-nanotube (sometimes called core-shell) structure, with its uniform size and well-controlled orientation of the long nanowire-in-nanotubes, is particularly attractive for use in the field of nano-fluidic devices and nano-energy harvesting devices. A wire-in-tube structure was prepared using electrospinning by means of tuning hydrolysis/alcoholysis of a precursor solution via the nanoscale Kirkendall effect.