Growth and Field Emission of Single‐Crystalline Hafnium Carbide Nanowires

‐oriented hafnium carbide (HfC) nanowires are synthesized on the graphite substrate by chemical vapor deposition. The dependence of temperature, HfCl4 content, and flow rate of CH4 gas on the morphology of nanowires is investigated herein. The results indicate that the HfC nanowire often kinks to another growth direction at a high HfCl4 content or a low temperature due to the destabilization of the catalyst droplet induced by either a faster growth rate or slower thermal activation. Reduced nanowire density and length are observed at the sample synthesized at a lower CH4 flow rate. Based on the experimental results, high‐crystallinity nanowires with high aspect ratios and high densities are prepared at a lower HfCl4 content, higher temperature, and high CH4 flow rate. The field‐emission properties of a single HfC nanowire are also characterized by assembling a single HfC nanowire emitter. An extremely high field enhancement factor of 5.57 × 106 m−1 is obtained herein. Single‐crystalline hafnium carbide (HfC) nanowires are prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the influence of experimental parameters on the morphology of nanowires is investigated. A high field enhancement factor of 5.57 × 106 m−1 is obtained from the nanowire, indicating great performance as a potential material for field‐emission applications.