Electrochemistry-assisted self-assembly of oriented zinc oxide and long-chain alkyl amine surfactant multilamellar nanostructures

Highly oriented ZnO-surfactant multilamellar nanostructures were fabricated by Electrochemistry-Assisted Self-Assembly on silicon substrates from the solution containing zinc nitrate and dilute surfactant hexadecylamine at 60 °C. The co-absorption of inorganic ions with surfactant on the electrode surface implied that the unique growth mechanism depended strongly on the environmental change of cathodic electrode area under the electric field. The ZnO nanosheets (∼2.3 nm) were produced. Comparing with pure ZnO film by electrodeposition, the multilamellar nanostructures consisting of the dielectric organic barriers and the semiconducting inorganic well layers give rise to 2-dimensional quantum confinement. This kind of organic–inorganic hybrid materials may be a potential candidate in practical applications.

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