Facile route to well-aligned ZnO nanowire arrays

Abstract

Well-aligned ZnO nanowire arrays were fabricated on the photoresist SPR6112-B coated (111) Si substrates by a facile vapor transport and condensation method. The structure and growth mechanism of the ZnO nanowire arrays were investigated in detail. It is found that the immiscibility of the zinc oxide–carbon system is responsible for the self-catalysis vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth of nanowire arrays. The photoluminescence measurement only presents a strong near-band-edge ultraviolet (UV) emission band centered at 379.6 nm (3.266 eV), exhibiting that the nanowire arrays are of stoichiometric composition and have good optical performance.