Article Title

Reshaping the tips of ZnO nanowires by pulsed laser irradiation

Authors

Xue Wang, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA Department of Applied Physics,
Yong Ding, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
Dajun Yuan, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332–0405, USA
Jung-Il Hong, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
Yan Liu, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
C. P. Wong, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
Chenguo Hu, Department of Applied Physics,
Zhong Lin Wang, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA

Keywords

ZnO nanowires, laser irradiation, hollow ZnO nanospheres, surface wettability, fine ZnO tips

Abstract

ABSTRACT Vertically aligned ZnO nanowires have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method. After being irradiated by a short laser pulse, the tips of the as-synthesized ZnO nanowires can be tailored into a spherical shape. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the spherical tip is a single-crystalline piece connected to the body of the ZnO nanowire, and that the center of the sphere is hollow. The growth mechanism of the hollow ZnO nanospheres is proposed to involve laser-induced ZnO evaporation immediately followed by re-nucleation in a temperature gradient environment. The laser-irradiated ZnO nanowire array shows hydrophobic properties while the original ZnO nanowire array shows hydrophilicity. The as-grown ZnO nanowire arrays with hollow spherical tips can serve as templates to grow ZnO nanowire arrays with very fine tips, which may be a good candidate material for use in field emission and scanning probe microscopy.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0222-5

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Xue Wang,Yong Ding,Dajun Yuan,Jung-Il Hong,Yan Liu,C. P. Wong,Chenguo Hu,Zhong Lin Wang, Reshaping the tips of ZnO nanowires by pulsed laser irradiation. NanoRes.2012, 5(6): 412–420