Synthesis of ZnO Nanocrystals in SiO₂/Si Track Template: Effect of Electrodeposition Parameters on Structure

Abstract

This paper presents a study of nanoclusters obtained by electrochemical deposition (ECD) of zinc in the a‐SiO2/Si‐n track template. The nanoporous SiO2 layer on Si substrate (track template) has been created by irradiation with swift Xe ions and further etching in HF solution. The morphology of SiO2/Si‐n track templates and precipitated Zn‐based clusters are examined using a scanning electron microscope JSM 7500F. The crystallographic structure of the Zn‐based precipitates was investigated by means of X‐ray diffraction (XRD). X‐ray analysis is carried out on a D8 ADVANCE ECO X‐ray diffractometer. The Bruker AXSDIFFRAC.EVAv.4.2 software and the international ICDD PDF‐2 database are used to identify the phases and study the crystal structure. From XRD data, it has been found the formation of three crystalline phases of zinc oxide nanocrystals electro‐deposited into SiO2/Si track template: wurtzite, sphalerite, and rock salt structures. Wurtzite is obtained on an amorphous surface of silicon dioxide. Possible mechanisms of ZnO formation instead of metal Zn nanocrystals are discussed.

Luminescence of ZnO nanocrystals in silica synthesized by dual (Zn, O) implantation and thermal annealing

“…The zinc oxide phase with sphalerite structure is a metastable one, and ZnO single crystals with zinc blende structure have not been obtained up to now [12]. This phase is stabilized upon heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO films on substrates with a cubic structure (ZnS, GaAs/ZnS, SiO 2 /Si) [12] or upon electrochemical ZnO deposition into SiO 2 /Si track templates [15]. The reported values of the lattice constant vary from 4.37 to 4.62 Å.…”

Structural and optical properties of Zn-implanted silica: effect of fluence and annealing

“…The zinc oxide phase with zinC blended structure is a metastable one. The zinc blended ZnO phase is stabilized by the heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO films on substrates with a cubic structure (ZnS, GaAs/ZnS, SiO 2 /Si) [35] or by electrochemical ZnO deposition into SiO 2 /Si track templates [36]. It is known that zinc oxide is also formed at high pressures (approximately 10 GPa at 220 • C).…”

CdTe Nanocrystal Synthesis in SiO2/Si Ion‐Track Template: The Study of Electronic and Structural Properties

“…As was recently demonstrated for zinc oxide (ZnO) deposition in the a‐SiO 2 /Si track template, [ 10 ] the formation of ZnO NCs is possible in all known phases—WZ, zinc blende (ZB), and rock salt—at different voltages between electrodes. Recently, we synthesized the CdTe NCs into the nanoporous SiO 2 /Si template using the electrochemical deposition (ECD) procedure.…”

“…In the past years, nanostructures of various substances were obtained using a a-SiO 2 /Si track template synthesis. [7][8][9][10] Among a wide variety of different techniques, template synthesis can be put on a special place due to its simplicity, low cost, and high quality. [7][8][9][10] Ion-track technology is one of the easiest ways to fabricate templates.…”