Synthesis of single crystalline europium-doped ZnO nanowires

Abstract

Single crystalline Eu3+-doped wurtzite zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were synthesized by a vapor deposition method under a controlled oxidative atmosphere. The nanowires were deposited on a Si substrate coated with 5 nm gold nanoparticles. The reaction was carried out for 30 min which resulted in high yield of vertically grown nanowires of diameter 40-150 nm and length up to several microns. The nanowires were grown along +/-[0 0 0 1] direction. The concentration of dopant Eu3+ in the synthesized nanowires was below I atomic %. The crystal structure and the microstructures of the doped nanostructures were studied and compared with undoped ZnO. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.