ZnO Nanowires Grown on Al2O3-ZnAl2O4 Nanostructure Using Solid-Vapor Mechanism

Abstract

We present Al2O3-ZnAl2O4-ZnO nanostructure, which could be a prominent\ncandidate for optoelectronics, mechanical and sensing applications. While ZnO\nand ZnAl2O4 composites are mostly synthesized by sol-gel technique, we propose\na solid-vapor growth mechanism. To produce Al2O3-ZnAl2O4-ZnO nanostructure, we\nconduct ZnO:C powder heating resulting in ZnO nanowires (NWs) growth on\nsapphire substrate and ZnAl2O4 spinel layer at the interface. The nanostructure\nwas examined with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) method. Focused Ion Beam\n(FIB) technique enabled us to prepare a lamella for Transmission Electron\nMicroscopy (TEM) imaging. TEM examination revealed high crystallographic\nquality of both spinel and NW structure. Epitaxial relationships of\nAl2O3-ZnAl2O4 and ZnAl2O4-ZnO are given.\n