Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) As a Tool for Nanomaterial Synthesis

Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) as a Tool for Nanomaterial Synthesis

J. Holik1, W. Hou2, D. Kisailus2, R. Liu3, S. Macartney4, L. R. Sheppard1e, R. Wuhrer5 1Solar Energy Technologies Research Group, School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, 2751, Australia; 2Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, 92521, USA 3SIMS Facility, Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of Western Sydney, Penrith, 2751, Australia 4School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, 2751, Australia 5Advanced Materials Characterisation Facility, Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of Western Sydney, Penrith, 2751, Australia

e: [email protected]

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) is a highly specialised surface analysis technique that is used to identify compositional details about a materials surface and near surface region. Utilising an ion beam to ablate atoms and related species from a material’s surface and subsequently analyse them using a mass spectrometer, SIMS typically provides information about how the composition of a material changes with depth, as well as laterally across the surface. As such SIMS is conventional considered a materials characterisation tool, and is especially useful for semiconductor research.

In the present investigation, SIMS has been used for materials synthesis rather than for materials characterisation. By exploiting the tendency of ion beams to impose roughness in a materials surface during bombardment, SIMS has been used to impose nucleation sites for the subsequent growth of TiO2 nanowires. By investigating the impact of various ion beam parameters on the resulting surface roughness, the research has sought to develop a method for imposing control over the morphological evolution of TiO2 nanowires by controlling nucleation density. The research aims at establishing fine control over the growth of TiO 2 nanowires so that they may be synthesised with specific functionality for specific applications, such as solar driven water splitting.