Thermal Evaporation Synthesis and Properties of ZnO Nano/Microstructures Using Carbon Group Elements as the Reducing Agents

ZnO nano/microstructures have been formed by thermal evaporation method using ZnO powders mixed with carbon group elements (C, Si, Ge, Sn, or Pb) as the reducing agent. For cases of mixed precursors of ZnO/C, ZnO/Si, and ZnO/Ge, the pure ZnO nano/microstructures are realized, while for ZnO/Sn (ZnO/Pb) systems, the phase of Pb(2)O(3)(Zn(2)SnO(4)) generally are represented in the ZnO products. The appearance of Pb(2)O(3)(Zn(2)SnO(4)) is attributed to the lower melting point and higher vapor pressure of Sn (Pb) in the heating and evaporation processes. The morphologies and sizes of the products are controlled by adjusting the growth regions and/or introducing gaseous argon. Room temperature (RT) photoluminescence spectra indicate that the intensity (peak position) of the ultraviolet emission is increased (redshift) due to the existence of Zn(2)SnO(4) phase in the ZnO products. The Pb(2)O(3)(Zn(2)SnO(4)) phase in ZnO nano/microstructures plays a important role in enhancing the saturation magnetizations of RT ferromagnetism with respect to the case of pure ZnO products fabricated by the precursor of mixed ZnO and graphite.