Issue 12, 2010
From the journal:

Nanoscale

Atomic-scale tuning of self-assembled ZnO microscopic patterns: from dendritic fractals to compact island

Chen Li,a   Guo Li,a   Chengmin Shen,a   Chao Hui,a   Jifa Tian,a   Shixuan Du,a   Zhenyu Zhangbcd  and  Hong-Jun Gao*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P R China
E-mail: hjgao@iphy.ac.cn

b Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA

c University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

d ICQD, the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, P R China

Abstract

How nature uses water molecules to create fascinating patterns ranging from snowflakes to ice cubes has intrigued mankind for centuries. Here we use ZnO to mimic nature's versatility in creating microscopic patterns with tunable morphology. During growth of ZnO on Zn-dominant spheres via chemical vapor deposition, highly regular and symmetric dendritic snowflake patterns and smooth compact islands can be obtained at different growth conditions. We reproduce the dendritic patterns using atomistic Monte Carlo simulations. These findings not only improve understanding of how water molecules form various patterns, but may also be instrumental in tailoring ZnO nanostructures for desirable functionality.

Graphical abstract: Atomic-scale tuning of self-assembled ZnO microscopic patterns: from dendritic fractals to compact island

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C0NR00421A
Article type
Communication
Submitted
19 Jun 2010
Accepted
14 Jul 2010
First published
13 Aug 2010

Nanoscale, 2010,2, 2557-2560

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Atomic-scale tuning of self-assembled ZnO microscopic patterns: from dendritic fractals to compact island

C. Li, G. Li, C. Shen, C. Hui, J. Tian, S. Du, Z. Zhang and H. Gao, Nanoscale, 2010, 2, 2557 DOI: 10.1039/C0NR00421A

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