Growth of High-Density Zinc Oxide Nanorods on Porous Silicon by Thermal Evaporation

The formation of high-density zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods on porous silicon (PS) substrates at growth temperatures of 600–1000 °C by a simple thermal evaporation of zinc (Zn) powder in the presence of oxygen (O(2)) gas was systematically investigated. The high-density growth of ZnO nanorods with (0002) orientation over a large area was attributed to the rough surface of PS, which provides appropriate planes to promote deposition of Zn or ZnO(x) seeds as nucleation sites for the subsequent growth of ZnO nanorods. The geometrical morphologies of ZnO nanorods are determined by the ZnO(x) seed structures, i.e., cluster or layer structures. The flower-like hexagonal-faceted ZnO nanorods grown at 600 °C seem to be generated from the sparsely distributed ZnO(x) nanoclusters. Vertically aligned hexagonal-faceted ZnO nanorods grown at 800 °C may be inferred from the formation of dense arrays of ZnO(x) clusters. The formation of disordered ZnO nanorods formed at 1000 °C may due to the formation of a ZnO(x) seed layer. The growth mechanism involved has been described by a combination of self-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) and vapor-solid (VS) mechanism. The results suggest that for a more precise study on the growth of ZnO nanostructures involving the introduction of seeds, the initial seed structures must be taken into account given their significant effects.