Controlled Synthesis and Understanding of Growth Mechanism : Parameters for Atmospheric Pressure Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ultrathin Secondary ZnO Nanowires

• Synthesis of ultrathin ZnO nanowires gains great attention from research community because oftheir large potential in applications involving optoelectronics and sensors. In this study, a lowpressure and low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis of ultrathin ZnO nanowires is studied tounderstand the growth mechanisms better. To achieve this aim, an about 10 nm thin Zn seed layerwas sputter-deposited on a silicon (100) wafer for the hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanowires in anequimolar aqueous solution of Zn(NO3)2 and hexamethylenetetramine. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the Zn layer was self-oxidized into ZnO in air soon after deposition and thenfunctioned as the seed for the preferred growth of c-oriented ZnO nanorods. Different growthconditions were investigated to identify how concentration, temperature, and time influence the finalmorphology of the synthesized ZnO nanostructures. It was found that under the atmosphericpressure, concentration and temperature have to be higher than 0.0025 M and 50°C, respectively,for the ZnO nanorods to nucleate and grow densely. Low concentration gives sparse and randomlyoriented nanorods, whereas high concentration gives dense and vertical nanorods. Ultrathin ZnOsecondary nanowires with an average diameter of less than 20 nm were successfully synthesizedin a solution with concentration of 0.005 M at 90°C for about 16 h. By analyzing the scanningelectron microscopy images of the ZnO nanostructures obtained at different growth conditions, amechanism is proposed for the growth of the ultrathin secondary ZnO nanowires. This findingprovides a cost-effective and straightforward pathway to prepare ultrathin ZnO nanowires.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Nanoteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Nano-technology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

ZnO nanowires

growth parameters

growth mechanism

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