Rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of Bi12TiO20 hierarchical architecture with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities

Flower-like Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ hierarchical nanostructures composed of numerous nanobelts were synthesized at 180 °C within 1 h by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) for the first time. The as-prepared products were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, the hierarchical Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ nanostructures exhibited higher photocatalytic activities in the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation than that of the samples prepared without CTAB. In addition, the role of CTAB cationic surfactant has been investigated thoroughly and a possible mechanism is proposed.     

Synthesis and characterization of ZnS nanobelts based on substitution reaction

ZnS nanobelts have been fabricated by ion-exchange reaction using pure Zn powder and CdS nanopowder as starting materials. The morphology and microstructure of ZnS nanobelts were measured by scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the products consist of a large quantity of ZnS nanobelts, and the nanobelts are grown as bunches randomly distributed on the substrate. The root of the bunch shows that the nanobelts are grown from a site. The ZnS nanobelts have a uniform cross-section along their lengths, and typical lengths of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers. Au nanoparticles are located at or close to the tips of the ZnS nanobelts, served as the catalyst for the growth of the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. In addition, the nanocombs, nanosaws and nanosprings of ZnS are also found in the products.     

One-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional ZnO nanostructures prepared by spray-pyrolysis-assisted thermal evaporation

One-dimensional (1D) and quasi-1D ZnO nanostructures have been fabricated by a kind of new spray-pyrolysis-assisted thermal evaporation method. Pure ZnO powder serves as an evaporation source. Thus-obtained products have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscope (TEM). The room temperature photoluminescence spectrum of these ZnO nanostructures is presented. The results show that as-grown ZnO nanomaterials have a hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure. Besides nanosaws, nanobelts and nanowires, complex ZnO nanotrees have also been observed in synthesized products. The study provides a new simple route to construct 1D and quasi-1D ZnO nanomaterials, which can probably be extended to fabricate other oxide nanomaterials with high melting point and doped oxide nanomaterials.     

Controllable morphologies of ZnO nanocrystals: nanowire attracted nanosheets, nanocartridges and hexagonal nanotowers

ZnO nanowire attracted nanosheets, nanocartridges and hexagonal nanotowers are fabricated by evaporation of ZnS in the presence of trace oxygen under controlled conditions. The nanosheet has an irregular structure, and nanowires sprout from the flange of the nanosheet. The nanocartridge has one row of prismatic nanorods grown on the (0001) surface of the ZnO nanobelts. The hexagonal nanotower, which grows along the c axis, shows an interesting layer structure and seems to form by piling up hexagonal ZnO nanocrystals layer on layer. These nanomaterials might have potential applications in optoelectronics. PACS 61.46.+w; 81.07.Vb; 81.16.Be     

Hydrothermal synthesis of novel sandwich-like structured ZnS/octylamine hybrid nanosheets

Novel sandwich-like structured zinc sulfide (ZnS)/octylamine (OA) hybrid nanosheets with exclusively sheet-like morphology were synthesized for the first time via a mild hydrothermal route using OA as structure-directing agent. The as-synthesized products were characterized by the X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scan electron microscopy, energy dispersive analyses of X-rays, thermogravimetric analysis, and ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy. The results showed that OA molecules were intercalated between wurtzite ZnS layers. As revealed from optical absorption measurements, the hybrid nanosheets exhibits strong quantum confinement effect with a great blue shift in the band gap.     

Synthesis, structure, and photoluminescence of Zn2SnO4 single-crystal nanobelts and nanorings

A large quantity of single-crystal Zn₂SnO₄ (ZTO) nanobelts is synthesized by using a thermal evaporation method. The lengths of the nanobelts are up to several hundreds of micrometers, and the average width and thickness are about 400 and 30 nm, respectively. Some ring-like nanobelts, called nanorings here, are also observed. The nanobelts are characterized in detail with scanning electron microscope, X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscope and selected area electron diffraction. Possible growth mechanisms for the ZTO nanobelts and nanorings are proposed. In addition, the photoluminescence spectrum (PL) of the nanobelts at room temperature shows a stable broad blue-green emission around the 400-600 nm wavelengths with a maximum center at 490 nm. The strong PL emission of the nanobelts may find potential applications in nano-scale optoelectronic devices.     

Novel nanostructures of ZnO for nanoscale photonics,optoelectronics, piezoelectricity,and sensing

Wurtzite-structured semiconductors such as ZnO, GaN, AlN, CdSe and ZnS are important materials for nanoscale devices. Zinc oxide, for example, is a unique material that exhibits semiconducting, piezoelectric, and pyroelectric properties. Using a solid–vapor phase thermal sublimation technique, nanocombs, nanorings, nanohelixes/nanosprings, nanobows, nanobelts, nanowires, and nanocages of ZnO have been grown under specific growth conditions. This paper is about the synthesis, structure, growth mechanisms, and potential applications of these nanostructures in optoelectronics, sensors, transducers, and biomedical science. PACS 81.07.-b; 78.67.-n; 85.35.-p     

Thioglycolic acid (TGA) assisted hydrothermal synthesis of SnS nanorods and nanosheets

Nanorods and nanosheets of tin sulfide (SnS) were synthesized by a novel thioglycolic acid (TGA) assisted hydrothermal process. The as prepared nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) study, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD study reveals the formation of well-crystallized orthorhombic structure of SnS. Diameter of the SnS nanorods varied within 30-100 nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns identify the single crystalline nature for the SnS nanocrystals. The mechanism for the TGA assisted growth for the nanosheets and nanorods have been discussed.     

Fabrication and characterization of ZnO and ZnMgO nanostructures grown using a ZnO/ZnMgO compound as the source material

ZnO and ZnMgO nanostructures were synthesized on Si (1 0 0) substrates with the assistance of a gold catalyst, using a thermal evaporation method with a ZnO/ZnMgO compound as the source material. The substrates were placed in different temperature zones. ZnO nanostructures with different morphologies and different compounds were obtained at different substrate temperatures. Nanostructures with nanorods and nanosheets morphologies formed in the low and high temperature zones, respectively. The nanorods grown in the low temperature zone had two phases, hexagonal and cubic. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) results showed that the nanorods with a cubic shape contained more Mg in comparison to the nanowires with a hexagonal shape. We found that the substrate temperature and the gold catalyst were two key factors for the doping of Mg and the formation of nanostructures with different morphologies. Room temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy showed a blue-shift for the nanostructures with the nanorods morphology. This shift could be attributed to Mg effects that were detected in the nanorods.     

Self-assembled highly symmetrical ZnS nanostructures and their cathodoluminescence

Here we report the synthesis and characterization of self-assembled highly symmetrical, i.e., two-fold, three-fold, four-fold and multi-fold, ZnS nanostructures through a simple thermal evaporation process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicated that the ZnS nanostructures are composed of faceted crystalline ZnS nanorods with a diameter in the range of 200-600 nm and length up to 2 μm. In addition, all the branched ZnS nanorods have preferential orientation along the [0 0 2] direction of a wurtzite-type hexagonal structure. The cathodoluminescence measurement demonstrated that the ZnS nanostructures have a strong and uniform band-gap emission centered at 337 nm, indicating their good crystallinity and excellent optical property.     

CdS纳米带和纳米锯的热蒸发法的合成和光学性质研究

利用氢气辅助的一步热蒸发法,在镀有金膜的硅片上制备出大量的CdS纳米结构. CdS纳米结构由纤锌矿结构的CdS纳米带和纳米锯组成. 研究表明沉积温度对CdS纳米结构的形貌和尺寸具有重要影响. 用气-液-固和气-固复合生长机理解释了CdS纳米结构的形成过程.光致发光测试表明CdS纳米带和纳米锯均发射出波长为512 nm的很强的绿色发光峰,对应于CdS的带-带跃迁. 同时对CdS纳米结构的光波导性质也进行了观察和讨论.     

Synthesis of morphologically controlled tin sulfide nanostructures

Different tin sulfide nanostructures, such as nanobelts, nanorightangles, nanorods, and nanosheets, have been synthesized via an efficient solvothermal process. The thickness and width of SnS nanobelts are less than 30 nm and in the range of 50–300 nm, respectively. A nanorightangle is composed of two nanobelts. The influence of synthetic parameters, such as reaction temperature and sulfur sources, on the morphologies of tin sulfide has been investigated.     

Growth peculiarities during vapor–liquid–solid growth of silicon nanowhiskers by electron-beam evaporation

One-dimensional (1D) silicon (Si) nanostructures were grown by electron-beam evaporation catalyzed by gold nanoparticles on silicon substrates following the vapor–liquid–solid growth mechanism. We report three strikingly different growth morphologies of the 1D Si nanostructures and discuss their formation. The morphology of the silicon nanostructures strongly depends on gold layer thickness, annealing temperature before deposition and growth temperature during the deposition. The formation of nanoscale silicon features such as nanobelts, nanowires and nanowhiskers was observed. The nanoscale silicon features were characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy using imaging, diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and UV micro-Raman spectroscopy. PACS 68.37.Lp; 68.70.+w; 78.30.-j; 81.15.Jj     

The effect of substrate surface roughness on ZnO nanostructures growth

The ZnO nanowires have been synthesized using vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process on Au catalyst thin film deposited on different substrates including Si(1 0 0), epi-Si(1 0 0), quartz and alumina. The influence of surface roughness of different substrates and two different environments (Ar + H₂ and N₂) on formation of ZnO nanostructures was investigated. According to AFM observations, the degree of surface roughness of the different substrates is an important factor to form Au islands for growing ZnO nanostructures (nanowires and nanobelts) with different diameters and lengths. Si substrate (without epi-taxy layer) was found that is the best substrate among Si (with epi-taxy layer), alumina and quartz, for the growth of ZnO nanowires with the uniformly small diameter. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that different nanostructures including nanobelts, nanowires and microplates have been synthesized depending on types of substrates and gas flow. Observation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the nanostructures are grown by VLS mechanism. The field emission properties of ZnO nanowires grown on the Si(1 0 0) substrate, in various vacuum gaps, were characterized in a UHV chamber at room temperature. Field emission (FE) characterization shows that the turn-on field and the field enhancement factor (β) decrease and increases, respectively, when the vacuum gap (d) increase from 100 to 300 μm. The turn-on emission field and the enhancement factor of ZnO nanowires are found 10 V/μm and 1183 at the vacuum gap of 300 μm.     

Direct synthesis of beta gallium oxide nanowires, nanobelts, nanosheets and nanograsses by microwave plasma

In this study, beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga₂O₃) nanowires, nanobelts, nanosheets, and nanograsses were synthesized through microwave plasma of liquid phase gallium containing H₂O in Ar atmosphere using silicon as the substrate. The nanowires with diameters of about 20-30 nm were several tens of microns long and the nanobelts with thickness of about 20-30 nm were tens to hundreds of microns long. The morphology and structure of products were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). These results showed that multiple nucleation and growth of β-Ga₂O₃ nanostructures could easily occur directly out of liquid gallium exposed to appropriate H₂O and Ar in the gas phase. The growth process of β-Ga₂O₃ nanostructures may be dominated by VS (vapor-solid) mechanism.     

The structure and photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanobelts prepared by a thermal evaporation process

ZnO nanobelts had been synthesized by a simple method of thermal evaporation of Zn powders. The morphology, structure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of ZnO nanobelts were studied. The nanobelts had a single-crystal hexagonal structure and grew along the (0 0 0 1) direction with several micrometers long, 50-400 nm wide and 30-100 nm thick. Photoluminescence measurement showed that the nanobelts had an intensive near-band ultraviolet emission at about 3.3 eV. The obtained experimental data suggest that the ultraviolet PL in ZnO nanobelts originates from the recombination of the acceptor-bound excitons and free extions at room temperature. The absence of the deep level emission indicated very low impurity concentration and high crystalline quality in the ZnO nanobelts. Large-area growth and high quality indicate that the prepared ZnO nanobelts have potential application in optoelectronic devices.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of single-crystal ZnS nanowires

Wurtzite ZnS nanowires were prepared through a hydrothermal synthesis route with a low-temperature (180 °C) in the presence of ethylenediamine (en). The structure and morphology of the samples are studied and the growth mechanism is discussed. Room-temperature photoluminescence properties and the thermal gravimetric characteristics of the as-synthesized ZnS nanostructures are also studied. PACS 61.46.Hk; 78.67.Bf; 81.07.Vb     

Spontaneous formation of single crystal ZnO nanohelices

This paper reports a novel helix-like ZnO nanostructure with several tens of nanometres in thickness synthesized on a gold-coated Si substrate by thermal evaporation of zinc sulfide powder at 1020°C. Transmission electron microscope characterization shows that as-synthesized ZnO nanohelices extend along [01\bar 11] direction and the axial direction of the helix is along [0001] direction. A catalyst-intervened dislocation-induced growth mechanism has been suggested to explain the formation of the helix-like ZnO nanostructures. This study opens a new route to construct helix-like ZnO nanostructures by different evaporation sources.     

Fabrication and characterization of ZnO micro and nanostructures prepared by thermal evaporation

A simple method of thermal evaporation to fabricate micro and nanostructures of zinc oxide was presented. ZnO micro and nanostructures, prepared under different quantity of O₂, were characterized by techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and analytical transmission electron Microscope. The SEM images indicated that the products prepared under the condition of sufficient O₂ were needle-like microrods and the samples synthesized under the condition of deficient O₂ were nanorods and nanowires with very high aspect ratio. The results of XRD and Raman shifts revealed that the ZnO micro and nanostructures synthesized under different quantity of O₂ were both single crystalline with the hexagonal wurtzite structure. The HRTEM images indicated that the ZnO nanowire prepared under the condition of deficient O₂ was single crystalline and grown along the direction of [0 0 1]. Photoluminescence measurement was carried out and it showed that the spectra of ZnO micro and nanostructures prepared under different quantity of O₂ exhibited similar emission features. In addition, the growth mechanism of ZnO micro and nanostructures was preliminarily discussed.     

Evidences dominating the formation of ZnO nanostructures via in-situ study in an environmental scanning electron microscope

In order to well understand the growth mechanism of the diverse morphology of the ZnO nanostructures, in situ analysis of the formation of different ZnO nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanocombs, and nanosheets, has been conducted in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). It is found that both nanocombs and nanosheets grew in two-stage heating processes on parent nanowires. The difference is that the nanocombs were synthesized in extremely high pressure of zinc vapor via a self-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid process, while the ZnO nanosheets were grown in relatively low pressure of zinc vapor. All the growth processes were revealed in real time imaging. It is demonstrated that the change in the growth environments can influence the thickness of the ZnO polycrystalline surface of the zinc powder, which alters the pressure of the zinc vapor and in turn determines the morphology of the final nanostructures.