Self-assembled ZnO Nanoparticles Research Articles

Zinc oxide nanoparticles on silicon

Self-assembled ZnO nanoparticles are grown by electron beam evaporation of Zn on silicon oxide and silicon substrates and subsequent annealing in oxygen. Characterization by TEM and EELS shows that the nanoparticles can be zinc oxide single crystals grown with their c -axis perpendicular to the substrate; their distribution, size and crystallinity depend on the deposition parameters of zinc and the growth substrate. We discuss the effect of these parameters on the morphology of the resulting material.

Self-assembly of ZnO nano-particles and preparation of bulk ZnO porous nanosolids

Novel bulk ZnO porous nanosolids were prepared by a unique solvothermal hot-press method, using ZnO nanoparticles and several kinds of solvents as the starting materials. It was found from the experiments that ZnO nanoparticles underwent a “self-assembly process” under some specific hydrothermal hot-press conditions. As a result, some “nanoflowers” formed. The results showed that porous nanosolids with uniform pore diameters could be obtained when water distributed uniformly among the ZnO nanoparticles. On the contrary, if the uniformity of the distribution of water was poor, “nanoflowers” would appear in the water-rich region. It was also found that the photoluminescence of ZnO porous nanosolids was affected by the self-assembly phenomenon. In addition, the results also showed that, both the volume and diameters of the pores could be adjusted by changing either the hot-press temperature, pressure or the kinds of solvents.

Synthesis and Characterization of Self-Assembled Piezoelectric ZnO Nanostructures and Integration with Si Processing

AbstractThe formation of 10 nm self-assembled ZnO nanoparticles on Si and SiO2/Si surfaces, using diblock copolymers, and wet chemical processing compatible with semiconductor manufacturing, is reported. The diblock copolymer, consisting of norbornene and a norbornenedicarboxcylic acid blocks with a 400 to 50 repeat unit ratio, was synthesized by ring opening metathesis polymerization. The microphase separation of the block copolymer was employed to grow spherical self-assembled ZnO nanoparticles The self-assembly of the inorganic nanoparticles was achieved at room temperature in the liquid phase by incorporating ZnCl2 to the carboxylic acid block, or by exposure of a solid film to diethyl zinc vapors. Subsequent room temperature wet chemical processing of the doped films resulted in the formation of zinc oxide, followed by the saturation of double bonds in the polymer backbone. The formation of ZnO was verified by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM ) micrographs show the size and distribution of the zinc oxide nanoclusters in the polymer matrix. This study provided information on the formation of zinc oxide structures in a self-assembled polymer matrix, with the intention of controlling the shape and distribution of zinc oxide domains. The doped diblock copolymer was applied on Si and SiO2/Si wafers, by standard spinon techniques, and its photolithographic patterning metalization was developed.