Growth and characterization of zinc oxide nanoneedles.

Crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoneedles were grown on n type Si(100) substrates using different catalyst of variable thicknesses by using thermal evaporation of ZnO and graphite powder in a tube with an Ar as a carrier gas. During the growth the temperature of the substrate was kept around 900-980 degrees C. The growth of ZnO nanoneedles was done by the Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) method. The catalysts used in the experiments were gold (Au) and cobalt (Co). The shape and morphology of the nanoneedles were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman Spectroscopy. Different shaped nanoneedles were obtained on the catalysts. Raman scattering were used to characterize the structural properties and crystal quality of the obtained nanostructures. The composition details of nanoneedle were studied by XPS.