Solvothermal growth of highly oriented wurtzite-structured ZnO nanotube arrays on zinc foil.

ZnO nanotube arrays were synthesized on zinc foil by a simple solvothermal approach. In this approach, zinc foil was used not only as a substrate but also as a zinc-ion source for the direct growth of ZnO nanotube arrays. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, indicated that the structure of the ZnO nanotube arrays on the zinc foil substrate was single-crystalline with a wurtzite structure. The optical properties of the ZnO nanorod arrays were characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopies and Raman. Photoluminescence exhibited strong UV emission and a broad deep-level (visible) emission emission at with 325 nm excitation. A possible mechanism is also proposed to account for the growth of the ZnO nanotube arrays. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]