Synthesis and characterisation of zinc oxide tetrapod nanocrystals

Abstract

Zinc oxide is an important group II-VI semiconductor material with optical properties that permit stable emission at room temperature. We report on the synthesis of highly uniform nanocrystalline ZnO tetrapod (ZnO-T) nanostructures through a modified chemical vapour transport process. These self assembled nanocrystals are characterised by four cylindrical arms with a hexagonal facet all of which are joined at a tetrahedral core. Studies are carried out on ZnO tetrapods using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PLS) and Raman measurements. We find a simple technique to quench visible emission found in ZnO tetrapods as grown. We also observe Raman active modes suggesting that nitrogen is incorporated within our samples. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.