Novel morphologies of ZnO nanotetrapods

Three kinds of tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures have been synthesized simultaneously in different regions of the same preparation apparatus by rapid heating zinc powder, in which two kinds of novel tetrapod-like ZnO nanocrystals with hexagonal needled arms and pyramid tip arms were first reported. High-resolution SEM and TEM measurements show that the arms of the tetrapod-like ZnO nanocrystals with needle-shaped arms grow in a layer-by-layer mode in the direction of <0001>. Zn suboxide likely plays a crucial role in the nucleation of tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures. Oxygen concentration is deemed as the critical experimental parameter for the formation of different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures.