Synthesis and properties of SiN coatings as stable fluorescent markers on vertically aligned carbon nanofibers
- North Carolina State University
- ORNL
The growth of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs) in a catalytic dc ammonia/acetylene plasma process on silicon substrates is often accompanied by sidewall deposition of material that contains mostly Si and N. In fluorescent microscopy experiments, imaging VACNF interfacing to live cell cultures it turned out that this material is broadly fluorescent, which made VACNFs useful as spatial markers, or created nuisance when DNA-labeling got masked. In this paper we provide insight into nature of this silicon/nitrogen in situ coatings. Here we have proposed a potential mechanism for deposition of SiNx coating on the sidewalls of VACNFs during PECVD synthesis in addition to exploring the origin of the coatings fluorescence. It seems most likely that the substrate reacts with the process gases through both processes similar to reactive sputtering and CVD to form silane and other silicon bearing compounds before being deposited isotropically as a SiNx coating onto the VACNFs. The case for the presence of Si-NCs is made strong through a combination of the strong fluorescence and elemental analysis of the samples. These broadly luminescent fibers can prove useful as registry markers in fluorescent cellular studies.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- ORNL LDRD Director's R&D
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1154780
- Journal Information:
- AIMS Materials Science, Journal Name: AIMS Materials Science Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 1; ISSN 2372-0468
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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