Formation mechanism of GaP nanorods under mild Benzene-thermal condition

GaP nanorods with widths of 20-40 nm and lengths of 200-500 nm, and nanoparticles with diameters of 20-40 nm were synthesized via the mild benzene-thermal route, using Na, P and GaCl₃ as the starting materials. X-ray powder diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology and crystal structure of the products. The results indicated that when the reaction temperature is lower than 250°C, the products consist almost is GaP nanorods. The nanorods change into nanoparticles gradually with increasing temperature. When the reaction temperature exceed 280°C, the products are regularly particles. The reaction proceeds through a metallic gallium intermediate and a solution-liquid-solid mechanism is proposed for the one-dimensional growth.