Highly oriented 1-D ZnO nanorod arrays on zinc foil: Direct growth from substrate, optical properties and photocatalytic activities

Highly oriented and large-scale ZnO nanorod arrays have been successfully synthesized on zinc foil by a simple, low-temperature, solution-phase approach. In this approach, zinc foil was used not only as a substrate but also as a zinc-ion source for the direct growth of ZnO nanorod arrays. X-ray diff...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wang, Y., Li, Xin Yong, Lu, G., Quan, X., Chen, G.
Format: Journal Article
Published: American Chemical Society 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46428
Description
Summary:Highly oriented and large-scale ZnO nanorod arrays have been successfully synthesized on zinc foil by a simple, low-temperature, solution-phase approach. In this approach, zinc foil was used not only as a substrate but also as a zinc-ion source for the direct growth of ZnO nanorod arrays. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images, and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns indicated that the structure of the ZnO nanorod arrays on the zinc foil substrate was single-crystalline and grown in the [0001] direction with a wurtzite structure. The optical properties of the ZnO nanorod arrays were characterized by UV-vis diffuse reflectance, Raman, and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnO nanorod arrays was tested by degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) under UV light irradiation compared to that of a ZnO nanorod film grown on a Ti substrate, indicating that the as-synthesized ZnO nanorod arrays exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity. © 2008 American Chemical Society.