Structural and optical characterization of ZnO single crystalline nanobamboos

ZnO nanobamboos and nanowires with diameters of 10-30 nm and lengths of 2-4 μm have been prepared by laser ablation in vacuum with precisely controlled pressure, growth and post-annealing temperature. XRD results show the annealed sample is hexagonal ZnO. Low-magnified TEM observation reveals the annealed sample includes ZnO nanobamboos and nanowires. High resolution TEM image and electron diffraction pattern confirm that the structure of ZnO nanobamboo is regular stacking of Zn and O layers with high crystal quality. The growth direction is determined as along [001] direction (c axis). TEM observations confirm that the formation of bamboo-shape ZnO is due to the stacking fault and cleavage. The bundle of those stacking faults seems to be the origin of the black contrast at the nodes. The uniformity of chemical composition for the nanobamboos is identified by EDS profiles. A strong-narrow UV band centred at 390 nm and a weak-broad green band centred at 515 nm are observed at room temperature in the PL spectrum recorded from the annealed ZnO nanobamboos and nanowires.