We report the growth of ultralong ZnO nanowires on silicon (100) substrates via the gold-catalyzed vapor transport approach. An ample supply of zinc vapor generated through carbothermal reduction of ZnO powder at 917 °C and a suitable amount of oxygen facilitate the rapid growth of nanowires. These ZnO nanowires are extremely long with lengths of 85−100 μm, and exhibit an overall vertical orientation. The nanowires have largely diameters of 250−400 nm. Crystal structure analysis indicates typical ZnO nanowire growth along the [0001] direction. The band gap of these nanowires was determined to be 3.22 eV. These nanowires show a relatively weak near-band-edge emission peak at 390 nm, and a significant oxygen vacancy-related emission band at 495 nm. Good photocatalytic activity of these nanowires on substrates toward the photodegradation of rhodamine B and 4-chlorophenol was demonstrated. Furthermore, we showed that these nanowires on substrates can serve as effective and convenient recyclable photocatalysts. Only a slight decrease in the photodecomposition rate was observed after 10 cycles of the photocatalysis experiment. The photocatalysts also work well under natural sunlight.
Unusual ZnO microspheres constructed of interconnected sheetlike nanostructures were prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis approach. These microspheres possess high surface areas (28.9 m(2)/g) and are amorphous. Trisodium citrate plays a key role in directing the formation of these microstructures. By increasing the reaction time, these microspheres gradually dissolved to form short hexagonal microrods with stacked nanoplate or nanosheet structure. The microrods were also formed under the influence of trisodium citrate. They are crystalline and show a strong (002) X-ray diffraction peak of wurtzite ZnO structure. Both microsphere and microrod samples show near-band-edge emission at approximately 385 nm, but only the microrod sample exhibits yellow luminescence at approximately 560 nm. Due to their high surface areas, these ZnO microstructures were examined for their ability to photodecompose phenol. The as-prepared samples did not display photocatalytic activity due to possible surface adsorption of solution species. However, microspheres with heat treatment to 300 degrees C can substantially enhance the photodecomposition of phenol under direct sunlight irradiation and still maintain their high surface area nanosheet structure.
We report a new approach for the seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods with high aspect ratios by the addition of nitric acid. Various amounts of nitric acid were added during nanorod growth to significantly enhance the production of high aspect ratio nanorods. The resulting nanorods have uniform diameters of 19-20 nm and can reach lengths of 400-500 nm to yield nanorods with average aspect ratios of 21-23. The nanorods represent a large fraction of the gold nanostructures synthesized, with triangular, truncated triangular, and hexagonal nanoplates about 120-200 nm in width making up rest of the gold nanostructures formed. These nanorods spontaneously self-assemble into a high-density three-dimensional packing structure with the nanorods arranged side-by-side and end-to-end. These nanorods possess a 5-fold twinned structure with ten {111} end faces and five {100} side faces. UV-vis absorption spectrum shows a transverse plasmon absorption band at 508 nm. The longitudinal plasmon absorption band should appear beyond 2500 nm due to the extremely long length of these nanorods. The presence of nitrate ions, rather than the slight pH change caused by nitric acid, is believed to have a greater effect on the formation of these nanorods.
Ultralong cadmium oxide nanowires were synthesized in high yield on gold-coated silicon substrates by using a vapor transport process. Cadmium vapor generated by the carbothermal reduction of CdO powder in a tube furnace heated to 500 degrees C was carried to the substrate zone by an argon flow with a trace amount of oxygen. The CdO nanowires grew via a vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. The diameters of the nanowires are approximately 40-80 nm, and can reach lengths of 30-50 mum. Because the nanowire formation was gold particle catalyzed, patterned nanowire growth on substrates can be achieved. These nanowires grew along the [111] direction and have slightly rough surfaces due to the presence of crystalline CdO shells formed via a physical vapor deposition process. Interesting CdO nanowires with a necklace-like morphology were also observed in a small region of the substrate, where the oxygen supply may be ample to facilitate the lateral growth of rhombohedron-shaped crystals over the straight wires. Electron diffraction and high-resolution TEM results suggest that these side crystals should grow epitaxially on the wire surfaces. The band gap of the CdO nanowires with smoother surfaces was determined to be approximately 2.53 eV. These nanowires exhibit a relatively weak emission band centered at approximately 550 nm.
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