Synthesis of crystalline boron nanowires by laser ablation

Crystalline boron nanowires with tetragonal structure have been synthesized based on laser ablation of a B/NiCo target; the nanowires are sometimes single crystals and have a droplet at one end of the nanowire; the droplet contains B, Ni and Co elements, which indicates that the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism may play a key role in the growth of the boron nanowires.