Article Title
Sulfur-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) Nanostars: Synthesis and simulation of growth mechanism
Authors
Jinhyun Cho, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Qiubao Lin, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
School of Science, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Sungwoo Yang, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Jay G. Simmons Jr., Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Yingwen Cheng, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Erica Lin, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Jianqiu Yang, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
John V. Foreman, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Weapons Sciences Directorate, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898, USA
Henry O. Everitt, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Weapons Sciences Directorate, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898, USA
Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Weitao Yang, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Jungsang Kim, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Jie Liu, Department of Chemistry, French Family Science Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
Keywords
ZnO nanostar, hexagram, thiourea, sulfur doping, growth mechanism, ab initio simulation
Abstract
We present a bottom-up synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and ab initio simulations of star-shaped hexagonal zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires. The ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by a low-temperature hydrothermal growth method. The cross-section of the ZnO nanowires transformed from a hexagon to a hexagram when sulfur dopants from thiourea [SC(NH2)2] were added into the growth solution, but no transformation occurred when urea (OC(NH2)2) was added. Comparison of the X-ray photoemission and photoluminescence spectra of undoped and sulfur-doped ZnO confirmed that sulfur is responsible for the novel morphology. Large-scale theoretical calculations were conducted to understand the role of sulfur doping in the growth process. The ab initio simulations demonstrated that the addition of sulfur causes a local change in charge distribution that is stronger at the vertices than at the edges, leading to the observed transformation from hexagon to hexagram nanostructures.
Graphical Abstract
Publisher
Tsinghua University Press
Recommended Citation
Jinhyun Cho,Qiubao Lin,Sungwoo Yang,Jay G. Simmons,Yingwen Cheng,Erica Lin,Jianqiu Yang,John V. Foreman,Henry O. Everitt,Weitao Yang,Jungsang Kim,Jie Liu, Sulfur-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) Nanostars: Synthesis and simulation of growth mechanism. NanoRes.2012, 5(1): 20–26
