Fabrication and characterization of cobalt nanoparticles on ZnO nanorods on a polished titanium substrate

Cobalt (Co) nanoparticles (NPs) are spread on ZnO nanorods (NRs) on a polished Ti substrate. To characterize the Co NPs on the ZnO NRs, multiple material analyses including field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) are carried out to examine the nanocomposite. Results indicate that Co NPs may accumulate on the top part of ZnO NRs because of their sticky property. The CoNPs/ZnO NRs/Ti nanocomposite shows promise for future ferromagnetic device applications.