Mesoporous Polyhedral Cages and Shells Formed by Textured Self-Assembly of ZnO Nanocrystals

Abstract

We report a new structure, mesoporous structured polyhedral drum and spherical cages and shells formed by textured self-assembly of ZnO nanocrystals, which are made by a novel self-assembly process during epitaxial surface oxidation. The cages/shells exhibit unique geometrical shapes, and their walls are composed of mesoporous and textured ZnO nanocrystals. The structures of the cages and shells are studied, and a growth mechanism is proposed to be a process following solidification of the Zn liquid droplets, surface oxidation, and sublimation.

Facile synthesis of hierarchical ZnO microstructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

“…Zinc oxide (ZnO), as an important semiconductor material has been extensively investigated because of its great potential applications in electronics, photoelectronics, optics, sensors and catalysis [9][10][11][12][13]. These applications result from its unique properties, which depend not only on the phase but also on the morphology and organization.…”

Growth mechanism and characterization of zinc oxide microcages

“…Due to their lower densities and higher surface areas compared to the bulk counterparts, hollow microstructures may find potential applications in filters, coatings, capsule agents for drug delivery, or templates for functional-architectured composite materials. Recently, Gao and Wang [17] reported on meso-porous ZnO cages/shells created from a mixture of ZnO, SnO 2 , and graphite powder at high evaporation temperature (. 1000 8C).…”

Facile and Surfactant-Free Synthesis of Hierarchical ZnO Microstructures

“…Zinc oxide (ZnO), as an important semiconductor material, has been extensively investigated because of its great potential applications in electronics, photoelectronics, optics, sensors and catalysis [3][4][5][6][7]. These applications result from its unique properties, which depend not only on the phase but also on the morphology and organization.…”