Fabrication of ZnO Nanowires by Green Technology

ZnO nanowires were fabricated through thermal evaporation of Zn or ZnS powder using solar energy. The Zn or ZnS powder was heated and evaporated by sunlight. The sunlight was concentrated on the Zn or ZnS powder by a converging lens and then the Zn or ZnS powder was evaporated and oxidized in air. After oxidation, ZnO nanowires were fabricated in the focal point. Strong ultraviolet emission, which corresponds to the near band-edge emission, was observed from the ZnO nanowires synthesized using Zn powder as a source material. Meanwhile, green emission, related to intrinsic defects such as oxygen vacancies, prevailed for the ZnO nanowires fabricated using ZnS powder. No catalysts were used in the fabrication of the ZnO nanowires, which suggested the ZnO nanowires were grown by a vapor-solid mechanism.