This dissertation, "Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Metallic Zinc and Zinc Oxide" by Amol, Muley, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured metallic Zinc and Zinc oxide submitted by Amol Muley B.Eng (VNIT, Nagpur) for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in June 2007 In 1965, Gordan Moore predicted the future of integrated circuits technology when he stated that every two years the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double. This prediction has become a reality, but sustaining this exponential size decrease is a big challenge for the future of IC technology, requiring extensive research into new materials and new processes in order to advance in nanoscale IC technology. In the last few years research has been conducted to fabricate technologically useful nanostructured semi-conducting materials like silicon, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride and zinc oxide. ZnO has been recognized as a promising material, with potential applications in fields such as optoelectronics, laser diodes and field effect transistors. In this study two different approaches, top-down (AFM oxidation lithography) and bottom-up (thermal evaporation) were used to synthesize nanostructured ZnO. The first part of the study demonstrates the local oxidation of metallic zinc induced by a conducting atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip. The effect of factors such as bias voltage, pulse duration and scan speed on the oxidation rate were examined. The oxide growth rate was found to increase linearly with the logarithm of the bias voltage at a constant pulse duration, and to decrease with the oxide height at a constant bias voltage. Increasing the scan speed has the same effect as reducing the pulse duration. The oxidation rate was also found to rise with the relative humidity at a constant temperature, and to drop with temperature at constant far-field humidity. The drop of the oxidation rate with temperature is thought to be due to the localized evaporation of the moisture content from the sample-tip gap region at elevated temperatures. Another potential application of ZnO, the Schottky diode, is also demonstrated. The second part of the study deals with the fabrication of highly facetted, hexagonal-shaped metallic Zn nanocrystals. These nanocrystals were synthesized by a simple catalyst-free thermal evaporation technique on a Si (001) substrate using Zn pellets as the source material. The Zn nanocrystals were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The nanocrystals of a size range 100-200 nm were {10 10} found to be highly facetted along {0001} and planes. The possibility of the presence of a thin ZnO layer on the surface of the as-deposited Zn nanocrystals was revealed by SAD analyses. This was further confirmed by exposing the Zn nanocrystals to air, which led to the formation of an epitaxial Zn-ZnO core-shell having a similar crystallographic orientation. (414 words) DOI: 10.5353/th_b3910153 Subjects: Zinc oxide Nanocrystals Nanostructured materials - Design and construction

Nanostructured Zinc Oxide covers the various routes for the synthesis of different types of nanostructured zinc oxide including; 1D (nanorods, nanowires etc.), 2D and 3D (nanosheets, nanoparticles, nanospheres etc.). This comprehensive overview provides readers with a clear understanding of the various parameters controlling morphologies. The book also reviews key properties of ZnO including optical, electronic, thermal, piezoelectric and surface properties and techniques in order to tailor key properties. There is a large emphasis in the book on ZnO nanostructures and their role in optoelectronics. ZnO is very interesting and widely investigated material for a number of applications. This book presents up-to-date information about the ZnO nanostructures-based applications such as gas sensing, pH sensing, photocatalysis, antibacterial activity, drug delivery, and electrodes for optoelectronics. - Reviews methods to synthesize, tailor, and characterize 1D, 2D, and 3D zinc oxide nanostructured materials - Discusses key properties of zinc oxide nanostructured materials including optical, electronic, thermal, piezoelectric, and surface properties - Addresses most relevant zinc oxide applications in optoelectronics such as light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and sensors

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Zinc Oxide Nanostructures: Synthesis and Characterization" that was published in Materials

Nanostructured materials for visible light driven photo-processes such as photodegradation of organic pollutants and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation for hydrogen production are very attractive because of the positive impact on the environment. Metal oxides-based nanostructures are widely used in these photoprocesses due to their unique properties. But single nanostructured metal oxide material might suffer from low efficiency and instability in aqueous solutions under visible light. These facts make it important to have an efficient and reliable nanocomposite for the photo-processes. The combination of different nanomaterials to form a composite configuration can produce a material with new properties. The new properties which are due to the synergetic effect, are a combination of the properties of all the counterparts of the nanocomposite. Zinc oxides (ZnO) have unique optical and electrical properties which grant it to be used in optoelectronics, sensors, solar cells, nanogenerators, and photocatalysis activities. Although ZnO absorbs visible light from the sun due to the deep level band, it mainly absorbs ultraviolet wavelengths which constitute a small portion of the whole solar spectrum range. Also, ZnO has a problem with the high recombination rate of the photogenerated electrons. These problems might reduce its applicability to the photo-process. Therefore, our aim is to develop and investigate different nanocomposites materials based on the ZnO nanostructures for the enhancement of photocatalysis processes using the visible solar light as a green source of energy. Two photo-processes were applied to examine the developed nanocomposites through photocatalysis: (1) the photodegradation of organic dyes, (2) PEC water splitting. In the first photo-process, we used the ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), Magnesium (Mg)-doped ZnO NPs, and plasmonic ZnO/graphene-based nanocomposite for the decomposition of some organic dyes that have been used in industries. For the second photo-process, ZnO photoelectrode composite with different silver-based semiconductors to enhance the performance of the ZnO photoelectrode was used for PEC reaction analysis to perform water splitting. The characterization and photocatalysis experiment results showed remarkable enhancement in the photocatalysis efficiency of the synthesized nanocomposites. The observed improved properties of the ZnO are due to the synergetic effects are caused by the addition of the other nanomaterials. Hence, the present thesis attends to the synthesis and characterization of some nanostructured materials composite with ZnO that are promising candidates for visible light-driven photo-processes.

The book deals with novel aspects and perspectives in metal oxide and hybrid material fabrication. The contributions are mainly focused on the search for a new group of advanced materials with designed physicochemical properties, especially an expanded porous structure and defined surface activity. The proposed technological procedures result in an enhanced activity of the synthesized hybrid materials, which is of great importance when considering their potential fields of application. The use of such materials in different technological disciplines, including aspects associated with environmental protection, allows for the verification of the proposed synthesis method. Thus, it can be stated that those aspects are of interdisciplinary character and may be located at the interface of three scientific disciplines—chemistry, materials science, and engineering—as well as environmental protection. Furthermore, the presented scientific scope is in some way an answer to the continuous demand for such types of materials and opens new perspectives for their practical use