Vertically aligned and hexagonal crystal ZnSe nanoribbon arrays on Zn substrates

The vertically aligned and hexagonal ZnSe nanoribbon array can be easily obtained by heating ZnSe: 0.38 en precursors (en = ethylenediamine), while ZnSe precursor nanoribbon arrays are grown directly on Zn foils in en using the solvothermal method. The nanoribbons are mostly about 4 nm in thickness, 100–300 nm in width, and 2 μm in length. The characteristics observed using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicate that the ZnSe precursor as well as ZnSe nanoribbons are vertically aligned on almost the whole zinc foil surface and form a large-scale uniform array. Particularly, ZnSe precursor nanoribbons are hybrid materials of ZnSe and en, while ZnSe nanoribbons are in the from of hexagonal structures. Possible growth mechanisms of the ZnSe precursor nanoribbon arrays are also proposed.