Artificial control of 2D ZnO patterns using interference patterning of photodynamic polymer

A facile and economic approach was demonstrated for the artificial control of the grating period in 2D ZnO nanostructures. Highly-ordered ZnO nanostructures with various periodicities (e.g., 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 μm) were prepared through a combination of a controlled Ar⁺ laser interference process on a PDO3 film and spin-coating technique utilizing aqueous zinc acetate/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution, which obviate the need for costly and complex processes such as a chemical etching step. The grating periods of the resulting 2D ZnO arrays are well matched with those of the photodynamically manipulated 2D surface relief grating (SRG) structure of the polymeric templates. The optical properties of 2D ZnO nanostructures with various widths and spatial densities were explored.