title: Kinetically controlled catalytic formation of zinc oxide thin films at low temperature.
abstract: We developed a unique method to produce ZnO thin films by kinetically controlled catalytic hydrolysis of a molecular precursor at low temperature, operating in conjunction with the vectorial control of crystal growth. Using a system in which the diffusion of a volatile catalyst into a solution of molecular precursor of the metal oxide limits the rate of hydrolysis and establishes a gradient of catalyst concentration, we investigated the nucleation of textured nanoparticles at the gas-liquid interface and characterized their subsequent growth. Use of this slow diffusion method combined with prediction of molecular species using a partial charge model enables a higher level of organizational control than obtained in other low-temperature synthesis methods, without the use of organic molecules. Various metal oxides and their morphologies and chemical compositions can be tailored for specific applications using this relatively simple approach.
authors.affiliation: HRL Labs LLC, 3011 Malibu Canyon Road, Malibu, California 90265, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kisailus
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwenzer
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gomm
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Morse
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D007700:Kinetics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015034:Zinc Oxide