Single-Crystalline ZnO Nanotube Arrays on Conductive Glass Substrates by Selective Disolution of Electrodeposited ZnO Nanorods

Abstract

Large-scale and highly oriented single-crystalline ZnO nanotubes on conductive glass substrates have been realized by a two-step solution approach, which involves the electrodeposition of oriented ZnO nanorods and subsequently coordination-assisted selective dissolution along the c-axis to form tubular structure caused by preferential adsorption of ethylenediamine (EDA) and OH- on different crystal faces. After dissolution in aqueous EDA solution for 10−15 h, the inner/outer wall surfaces of the obtained ZnO nanotubes are quite smooth and the wall thickness is uniform in ∼10−30 nm. Furthermore, a strong near-band gap ultraviolet stimulated emission at a wavelength of 389 nm with a half-maximum of 3 nm is observed at room temperature.