Aqueous synthesis of single-crystalline ZnO prisms on graphite substrates

Morphological change from ZnO films to ZnO prisms is achieved by an electrochemical deposition method on a graphite substrate at the low temperature of 70 degrees C. The ZnO prisms, which are prism-shaped ZnO rods with a wide diameter, have hexagonal well-defined crystallographic facets. The ZnO prism is 1.4 mu m in diameter and 1.3 mu m in length. Transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction patterns indicate that the ZnO prisms have a single-crystalline wurtzite structure with c-axis orientation. Additionally, cathodoluminescence shows that the annealed ZnO prisms in nitrogen gas emit a significant level of near-band-edge ultraviolet light. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.