In this work, for the first time, fragmentation and joining of tungsten oxide (WO₃) nanorods induced by a broad ion beam are reported. Although at low energy (5 keV) and moderate ion fluence, nanorods fragment into smaller pieces along the length, at higher ion energies (50–100 keV), a contrary process occurs, which leads to the joining of the nanorods. A state-of-the-art ion–solid interaction simulation, namely, TRI3DYN, has been invoked to explore the possible mechanisms that reveal subtle contributions of surface defects, ion-beam mixing, and sputtering. High-resolution electron microscopy, photoluminescence study, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy support the observed results and proposed mechanisms. Such modifications have interesting effects on the electrical conductivity of the nanorod assembly. The change in sample color upon ion irradiation from initial white to yellow, light blue, deep blue, light green, and cyan shows an excellent and reversible chromatic response of tungsten oxide nanorods to irradiation. Such a property can be exploited to fabricate radiation sensors. The fragmentation and joining at different energy scales have essential implications in nanodevice fabrication through the bottom-up approach as well as for the development of fusion reactors.

中文翻译：

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宽束诱导的氧化钨纳米棒的破碎和连接：纳米器件制造和聚变反应堆的发展的意义。

在这项工作中，第一次是氧化钨的碎裂和结合（WO ₃）报道了由宽离子束诱导的纳米棒。尽管在低能量（5 keV）和适度的离子通量下，纳米棒沿长度方向破碎成较小的碎片，但在更高的离子能量（50–100 keV）下，会发生相反的过程，这导致纳米棒的连接。调用了最新的离子-固体相互作用模拟TRI3DYN，以探索揭示表面缺陷，离子束混合和溅射细微作用的可能机制。高分辨率电子显微镜，光致发光研究和X射线光电子能谱支持观察到的结果和提出的机制。这样的修饰对纳米棒组件的电导率具有有趣的影响。离子辐照后样品颜色从初始的白色变为黄色，浅蓝色，深蓝色，浅绿色，青色显示氧化钨纳米棒对辐照的出色且可逆的色响应。可以利用这种特性来制造辐射传感器。通过自下而上的方法在纳米器件制造中以及在聚变反应堆的开发中，不同能级的碎裂和结合对纳米器件制造具有至关重要的意义。