Enhanced oxidation resistance of magnesium nanorods grown by glancing angle deposition

Oxidation behavior of magnesium thin films and nanorods were investigated in the temperature range of 25–550 °C by using thermal gravimetric analysis. Arrays of vertical magnesium nanorods were deposited by the DC magnetron sputtering glancing angle deposition technique, while the magnesium thin films were deposited using the same system but at normal incidence. The morphologies and corresponding crystal structure of the samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods, respectively. We report that the Mg thin films showed oxidation induced weight gain starting from room temperature. On the other hand, Mg nanorods did not show any indication of significant oxidation at temperatures below 350 °C. Enhanced oxidation resistance of Mg nanorods was also confirmed by quartz crystal microbalance measurements. At temperatures higher than 350 °C, Mg nanorods started to get oxidized and their weight increased at a similar rate to that of Mg thin films. We argue that reduced oxidation of Mg nanorods is mainly attributed to their single crystal nature. Magnesium nanorods’ reduced oxidation can potentially play a key role in hydrogen storage and gas sensing applications.