Tuning the configuration of Au nanostructures: from vermiform-like, rod-like, triangular, hexagonal, to polyhedral nanostructures on c-plane GaN

The systematic control over the configuration, size, and density of Au nanostructures can directly improve or optimize the physical, chemical, and optoelectronic properties and thus the functionality in the related applications. In this work, we successfully demonstrate the systematic configurational transition of self-assembled Au nanostructures on c-plane GaN via the precise control of annealing temperature, deposition amount, and annealing duration. Depending on the control of annealing temperature, self-assembled Au vermiform-like nanostructures are fabricated and evolve into the faceted Au nanorods and Au hexagons with the minimization of overall surface energy based on the Volmer–Weber growth model. With the deposition amount control, the volume-dependent transition of Au nanostructure configurations from triangles to hexagons and then to polyhedral is clearly observed and discussed based on the combinational effects of growth kinetics and surface free energy distribution. The configurational transition from irregular Au clusters to faceted nanostructures is witnessed along with the incremental variation of annealing duration based on the Ostwald ripening.