# Tip-induced nanoreactor for silicate

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a nanoscale reactor using a tungsten tip and silica substrate to efficiently generate silicate through capillary and electric effects.

## Contribution

A novel nanoreactor method for controlled silicate generation using a confined space between a tungsten tip and silica substrate.

## Key findings

- Local water-like droplets form between the tungsten tip and silica surfaces during the process.
- The nanoreactor efficiently produces silicate due to capillary and electric field effects.
- In-situ optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy revealed the product composition and reaction mechanism.

## Abstract

Nanoscale scientific issues have attracted an increasing amount of research interest due to their specific size-effect and novel structure-property. From macro to nano, materials present some unique chemical reactivity that bulk materials do not own. Here we introduce a facile method to generate silicate with nanoscale control based on the establishment of a confined space between a meso/nanoscale tungsten tip and a smooth silica/silicon substrate. During the process, local water-like droplets deposition can be obviously observed in the confinement between the Si/SiO2 surfaces and the KOH-modified tungsten tip. By the combination of in-situ optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, we were able to take a deep insight of both the product composition and the underlying mechanism of such phenomena. It was indicated that such nanoreactor for silicate could be quite efficient as a result of the local capillarity and electric field effect, with implications at both nano and meso scales.