Controlled synthesis of ultrathin ZnO nanowires using micellar gold nanoparticles as catalyst templates

We demonstrate a simple and effective approach to control the diameter of ultrathin ZnO nanowires with high aspect ratios and high densities over large areas. Diblock copolymer-based nanoparticle arrays exhibiting a high degree of hexagonal order and offering easy control of particle size (typically 1-10 nm) and interparticle spacing (25-150 nm) are utilized as nanocatalysts for the subsequent growth of semiconductor nanowires. The as-grown ZnO nanowires exhibit a single crystal hexagonal wurtzite structure and grow along the [0002] direction. Facetted catalyst particles were observed at the tip of the nanowires after synthesis, thus suggesting a catalyst-assisted vapor-solid-solid (VSS) rather than a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism, the latter being frequently used in semiconductor nanowire production. Such a growth process allows us to easily prepare ultrathin ZnO nanowires with tunable diameters well below 10 nm by taking advantage of the inherent size control of the micellar method during deposition of the catalyst nanoparticles. Raman spectroscopy reveals a phonon confinement effect as the diameter of nanowires decreases. Photoluminescence spectra of these ultrathin nanowires indicate a blue shift of the free excitons and their phonon replicas by 37 meV induced by quantum confinement.