Formation of Hybrid Silicon Nanostructures via Capillary Instability Triggered in Inductively‐Coupled‐Plasma Torch Synthesized Ultra‐Thin Silicon Nanowires (Phys. Status Solidi B 7/2019)

The formation of hybrid silicon nanostructures is studied in article number 1800620 by Marta Agati et al. Ultra‐thin silicon nanowires (diameter 2–3 nm), synthesized via an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torch process, were subjected to thermal treatments under different ambient gas. Formation of the nanostructures is ascribed to the capillary instability developed in the ultra‐thin Si core as long as the temperature reaches values of 800–1200 °C. The resulting hybrid Si nanostructures consist of a string of Si nanocrystals (SiNCs) with different shapes and dimensions embedded in silica nanowires. The cover image shows different energy‐filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) images, the high‐resolution TEM image of an almond‐shaped SiNC, and the capillary instability model. The EFTEM images, acquired on consecutive parts of these long (∼μm) hybrid Si nanostructures, illustrate the morphology of the Si core, which features a chapletlike Si nanostructure (on the left) and a chain of equallysized spherical SiNCs periodically displaced inside the silica nanowire (on the right). – This article belongs to a collection of 6 articles on “Nanostructures and Self‐Assembly”, guestedited by Simona Boninelli, Isabelle Berbezier, Maurizio De Crescenzi, and David Grosso (cf. Preface, article no. 1900345 ).