Preparation by Electrodeposition and Characterization of ZnO Nanowire Arrays

Abstract

Ordered zinc (Zn) nanowire arrays embedded in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates were prepared by an effective electrodeposition method. Oxygen was used to oxidize the electrodeposited zinc nanowire arrays in the AAO templates. By thermal treatment in an oxygen atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h, the deposited Zn was completely oxidized. The microstructures and optical properties of the synthesized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum analytic apparatus. We found that large scale polycrystalline ZnO nanowire arrays were uniformly assembled in the nanochannels of the AAO template. The nanowires have a very high aspect ratio of about 1000:1 with the length equaling the template thickness and a diameter of about 80 nm. PL measurements of the ZnO/AAO assembly showed a strong green emission at 504 nm, which was attributed to the oxygen vacancy defects of the ZnO nanowires. These results can be used in further studies of the structural and functional properties of electroluminescence devices based on the ZnO/AAO assembly.