Size-controlled, high optical quality ZnO nanowires grown using colloidal Au nanoparticles and ultra-small cluster catalysts

M F Lynam,N.-J Ke,S J Bradley,V B Golovko,A Neiman,A J Downard,R J Reeves,T Nann,M W Allen

doi:10.1063/1.5054355

M F Lynam, N.-J Ke + Show 7 more

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Size-controlled ZnO nanowires were grown by eclipse pulsed laser deposition using Au colloids and ultra-small (sub 2 nm) Au101 and Au9 clusters as catalysts, tethered to c-plane sapphire substrates using aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS). A strong correlation was observed between ZnO nanowire tip diameter and Au catalyst size, with no apparent lower limit to the size of Au nanoparticles able to catalyze nanowire growth. All ZnO nanowires produced intense ultraviolet photoluminescence with almost no visible defect band emission that is commonly observed in ZnO-based materials, including nanowires. A correlation was also observed between the quality of the ultraviolet photoluminescence (in terms of decreasing exciton line widths and surface-related emission) and decreasing ZnO nanowire diameter, with the highest quality emission obtained using Au9 atomically precise cluster catalysts, used here as catalysts for ZnO growth for the first time.

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A key advantage of VLS growth is that the morphology of the nanowires usually varies with the size of the eutectic scitation.org/journal/apm droplets from which they are seeded.17,21 Typically, catalyst droplets are formed on a substrate surface by the melting and subsequent dewetting of a thin metal film
Size-controlled ZnO nanowires were grown by eclipse pulsed laser deposition using Au colloids and ultra-small Au101 and Au9 clusters as catalysts, tethered to c-plane sapphire substrates using aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS)
To improve control over the dimensions of ZnO nanowires, we present a method for the preparation of the catalyst layer based on the tethering of size-selected colloidal Au nanoparticles or atomically precise Au clusters on sapphire substrates for subsequent ZnO nanowire growth using eclipse pulsed laser deposition

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Introduction

A key advantage of VLS growth is that the morphology of the nanowires usually varies with the size of the eutectic scitation.org/journal/apm droplets from which they are seeded.17,21 Typically, catalyst droplets are formed on a substrate surface by the melting and subsequent dewetting of a thin metal film. Size-controlled ZnO nanowires were grown by eclipse pulsed laser deposition using Au colloids and ultra-small (sub 2 nm) Au101 and Au9 clusters as catalysts, tethered to c-plane sapphire substrates using aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS).

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