1. Crystal growth behaviour in Au-ZnO nanocomposite under different annealing environments and photoswitchability.
- Author
-
Mishra, Y. K., Chakravadhanula, V. S. K., Hrkac, V., Jebril, S., Agarwal, D. C., Mohapatra, S., Avasthi, D. K., Kienle, L., and Adelung, R.
- Subjects
- *
GOLD nanoparticles , *ZINC oxide , *NANORODS , *NANOCOMPOSITE materials , *TRANSMISSION electron microscopes , *NANOCRYSTALS , *CRYSTAL growth , *CURRENT-voltage characteristics - Abstract
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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF