Abstract
Crystalline zinc tin oxide (ZTO; zinc oxide with heavy tin doping of 33 at.%) nanowires were first synthesized using the electrodeposition and heat treatment method based on an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane, which has an average diameter of about 60 nm. According to the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) results, the synthesized ZTO nanowires are highly ordered and have high wire packing densities. The length of ZTO nanowires is about 4 μm, and the aspect ratio is around 67. ZTO nanowires with a Zn/(Zn + Sn) atomic ratio of 0.67 (approximately 2/3) were observed from an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns demonstrated that the ZTO nanowire is hexagonal single-crystalline. The study of ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared (UV/Vis/NIR) absorption showed that the ZTO nanowire is a wide-band semiconductor with a band gap energy of 3.7 eV.
Highlights
In recent years, one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, such as nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods, nanobelts, nanocables, and nanoribbons, have stimulated considerable interest for scientific research due to their physical and chemical properties
We report the synthesis and characterization of zinc tin oxide (ZTO) (ZnO with heavy Sn doping of 33 at.%) nanowires based on highly ordered Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane by an electrodeposition method
The typical field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) image (Figure 1a) shows that the surface of the AAO membrane was still kept clean and had no deposition after the ZTO nanowires were oxidized at 700 °C for 10 h The image shows that the pores on the AAO membrane have a uniform size and are arranged in a hexagonal honeycomb structure
Summary
One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, such as nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods, nanobelts, nanocables, and nanoribbons, have stimulated considerable interest for scientific research due to their physical and chemical properties. Zn-Sn-O (ZTO) is an interesting semiconducting material with a band gap energy (Eg) of 3.6 eV [4,5] It has demonstrated great potential for application in various areas, such as transparent conducting oxides used as photovoltaic devices, flat panel displays, solar cells, and gas sensors, due to its high electron mobility, high electrical conductivity, and low visible absorption [4,5,6,7]. For ZTO nanowires, in a previous research, transparent semiconducting ternary oxide Zn2SnO4 nanowires were synthesized by the thermal evaporation method without any catalyst [8]. Mixed oxide ZnO-Zn2SnO4 (ZnOZTO) nanowires with different sizes were prepared in a horizontal tube furnace by a simple thermal evaporation method [10]. There have been a few reports on ZTO nanowires that have been fabricated with AAO membraneassisted synthesis using electrodeposition and heat treatment methods
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
