Self-catalytic synthesis of ZnO tetrapods, nanotetraspikes, and nanowires in air at atmospheric pressure

ZnO tetrapods uniformly distributed over the surface of zinc foils were synthesized in situ at 900°C in air. Control experiments indicate that ZnO tetrapods are evolved from ZnO microspheres and their clustered complexes, which act as the centers advancing to further one-dimensional (ID) growth and branching structures in four characteristic directions. Using a specific alkali solution promotes tetrapods with pyramidal arms that further progress in growing ZnO tetraspikes and nanowires with increasing reaction time. It is believed that the pretreatment of zinc foils using alkali solution is an important step for this air, high-temperature synthesis. The evolution mechanism from ZnO microspheres and their clustered complexes to ZnO tetrapods and the evolution of ZnO nanowires through nanotetraspike morphology are illustrated. The synthesized ZnO tetrapod structure was found to exhibit strong photoluminescence in the UV light range. © 2008 American Chemical Society.