Pb nanoparticle tipped ZnO nanowires heterostructures by long-pulse-width laser ablation of binary metal target in diluted gas

Pb nanoparticle tipped ZnO nanowires heterostructures (i.e., Pb/ZnO heterostructures) were successfully prepared by long-pulse-width laser ablation of Zn/Pb binary metal target in gas mixture of Ar/O-2. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction were employed to characterize the morphology and structure of the/ZnO heterostructures. Furthermore, some special hierarchical structures were also observed in the as-prepared samples, which consists of smaller Pb nanoparticles tipped shorter ZnO nanowires heterostructures with almost array perpendicularly grow on the two sides of one thick ZnO nanowire. The experimental results show that the formation of Pb/ZnO heterostructures was influenced by the pulse width. The present study provides new insights into the research on the fundamental aspects of laser ablation in gas atmosphere. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.