Controllable lateral growth and electrical properties of nonpolar ZnO nanowires

The iodide interplay with polar Zn2+ and O2− induced nonpolar [101¯0] ZnO nanowires is fabricated via a simple vapor phase transport at a temperature of as low as 250 °C that is compatible with the nanodevice processing technique. As-fabricated nanowires exhibit single crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structures and grow along the [101¯0] direction instead of the conventional polar [0001] direction. The growth evolution can be explained by the synergy of the vapor–liquid–solid process and iodide direction-modulation. The electrical measurements demonstrate that the mobility of the PbI2-induced [101¯0] nanowires is significantly improved in comparison with that of the BiI3-modulated [112¯0] ones. These unique nonpolar nanowires are promising for improved high efficiency nanodevices.