Formation of ZnO nanobrushes in direct atmosphere using a carbon catalyst and A Zn metal source

In this paper we report on the preparation of nanobrushes of ZnO on quartz substrate by a direct atmosphere evaporation method using Zn metal flakes. Activated charcoal was used as a catalyst that facilitated the formation of nanobrushes in which the brush stem was about 15μm in length and the bristles (100-200 nm thick) were made up of nanofibrous ZnO whose tips were 10-15 nm in width and were angled in some cases. These aligned nanobrushes can find potential applications as nanopower generators and high aspect ratio AFM probes by virtue of the piezoelectric property of ZnO. This technique is simple for realizing aligned ZnO nanobrushes with metallic Zn as the source material. © World Scientific Publishing Company.