Fabrication, Structural Characterization and Optical Properties of the Flower-Like ZnO Nanowires

Multipod flower-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires have been successfully synthesized on Si(111) substrates using a pulsed laser deposition prepared Zn film as "self-catalyst" by the simple thermal evaporation oxidation of the metallic zinc powder at 850 degrees C without any other catalysts or additives. The pre-deposited Zn films by pulsed laser deposition on the substrates can promote the formation of the ZnO nuclei effectively. Also it can further advance the growth of the flower-like ZnO nanowires accordingly. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, and photoluminescence were used to analyze the structure, morphology, composition and optical properties of the as-synthesized products. The results demonstrate that the nanowires were single crystalline with hexagonal wurzite structure, grown along the [0001] in the c-axis direction. Room temperature photoluminescence spectrum of the ZnO nanowires shows a nearband-edge ultraviolet emission (peak at approximate to 384 nm) and a deep-level green emission (peak at approximate to 513 nm). In addition, the growth mechanism of the flower-like ZnO nanowires is discussed in detail.