title: High surface-to-volume ratio ZnO microberets: low temperature synthesis, characterization, and photoluminescence.
abstract: Novel hollow ZnO microstructures and ZnO microberets (ZMBs) with nanowires grown vertically on both the inner and outer surfaces of beret shells were synthesized on Si(100) substrates by simple thermal evaporation of pure zinc powder without any catalyst or template material at a relative low temperature of 490 degrees C. XRD, SAED, and HRTEM patterns show that the nanowires and shells of ZMBs are single-crystalline wurtzite structures. The growth mechanism of ZMBs is discussed in detail. The formation of these hollow microstructures depends on the optimum starting time of air introduction. It is a good way to grow well-aligned nanowires by using a nanoscale rough ZnO surface to realize a "self-catalyzed" vapor-liquid-solid process. The photoluminescence spectrum reveals a strong green emission related to the high surface-to-volume ratio of ZMBs. These types of special hollow high surface area structural ZMBs may find potential applications in functional architectural composite materials, solar cell photoanodes, and nanooptoelectronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Acoustic and Photonic Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongbing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Jinchai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Duofa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003460:Crystallization; D049449:Luminescence; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D036103:Nanotechnology; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015034:Zinc Oxide; D012825:Silicon