Semiconducting Nanobelts of ZnO and ZnS

Semiconducting oxides and sophides have attracted considerable attention in scientific research and technological applications.In this paper, by thermal evaporating a mixture of ZnO and SnO 2 , self-assembled nanowire-nanoribbon junction arrays of ZnO have been synthesized (Fig. 1) [1].The growth is dominated by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism and Sn particles reduced from SnO 2 serve as the catalyst for the growth.The axial nanowires (the "rattans") are the result of fast growth along [0001], and the surrounding "tadpole-like" nanoribbons are the growth along 〈10-10〉 .An isotropic growth along six 〈10-10〉 results in the ordered radial distribution of the nanoribbons around the axial nanowire.The junction arrays of ZnO structures reported here are likely to have ultra-high surface sensitivity due to the unique structure, and they are a candidate for building sensors with ultra-high sensitivity.