Crystal growth behaviour in Au-ZnO nanocomposite under different annealing environments and photoswitchability

The growth of gold nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods in atom beam co-sputtered Au-ZnO nanocomposite (NC) system by annealing at two different ambient conditions is demonstrated in this work. Annealing in a furnace at 600 °C (air environment) confirmed the formation of ZnO nanorods surrounded with Au na...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2012-09, Vol.112 (6)
Main Authors: Mishra, Y. K., Chakravadhanula, V. S. K., Hrkac, V., Jebril, S., Agarwal, D. C., Mohapatra, S., Avasthi, D. K., Kienle, L., Adelung, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANNEALING
BEAMS
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
CRYSTAL GROWTH
DEPOSITION
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
EUTECTICS
GOLD
ILLUMINANCE
MELTING
MELTING POINTS
Nanomaterials
Nanorods
NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanostructure
NANOSTRUCTURES
Numerical control
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
Zinc oxide
ZINC OXIDES
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Summary:The growth of gold nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods in atom beam co-sputtered Au-ZnO nanocomposite (NC) system by annealing at two different ambient conditions is demonstrated in this work. Annealing in a furnace at 600 °C (air environment) confirmed the formation of ZnO nanorods surrounded with Au nanoparticles. In-situ annealing inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM) led to the formation of gold nanocrystals with different polygonal shapes. TEM micrographs were obtained in real time at intermediate temperatures of 300 °C, 420 °C, and 600 °C under vacuum. The growth mechanisms of Au nanocrystals and ZnO nanorods are discussed in the framework of Au-Zn eutectic and Zn-melting temperatures in vacuum and air, respectively. Current-voltage responses of Au-ZnO NC nanorods in dark as well as under light illumination have been investigated and photoswitching in Au-ZnO NC system is reported. The photoswitching has been discussed in terms of Au-ZnO band-diagram.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4752469