Facile synthesis and photoluminescence of ZnSe nanowires

Well-defined ZnSe nanowires were successfully synthesized on the composite layer of gold and carbon coated Si substrates by using a facile thermal vaporation method. These nanowires are of well crystalline cubic structure and the average length is up to tens of micrometers. It is found that the growth process follows a typical vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, and the carbon layer can enhance the VLS growth process of the ZnSe nanowires. Moreover, the photoluminescence (PL) properties of the nanowires were investigated. Only a broad and strong red emission band centered at 629 nm is observed. The main reason is ascribed to the donor-acceptor pair recombination induced by a large amount of Zn vacancies and Zn interstitials existing in ZnSe nanowires. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.