title: Formation of ZnO nanocones using wet chemical etching of ZnO nanorods in an aqueous solution of HCl.
abstract: In this report, a simple wet chemical etching of ZnO nanorods to fabricate large area ZnO nanocones is demonstrated. The cone-like morphology formation utilizes anisotropic etching rate on the different crystal planes of ZnO nanorods in an aqueous solution of HCl (HCl [aq]). To form ZnO nanocones, single crystalline ZnO nanorods with a flat hexagonal shape are synthesized on p-Si(100) using hydrothermal method at 90 degrees C and then, are immersed in HCl [aq]. Electron microscopy reveals that the HCl [aq] treatment of ZnO nanorods significantly etched sidewalls of nanorods, resulting in the cone-like morphology formation. The nanocone formation is the most noticeable when the etching occurred in HCl [aq] with a pH of 2.5-3.0 for 5 min etching time. Geometrical analysis using the electron microscopy reveals that the sidewall of a ZnO nanocone have formed a plane indexed as (0-111) after the etching process.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0245, USA.
authors.forename: Joonho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Ee-Le
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Young Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Choi