Effect of Different Anions on ZnO Morphology

Zinc oxide exhibit highly anisotropic growth due to the lower surface energy associated with the highly polar (002) plane. ZnO thin films are deposited from a solution containing ammonia complexed Zn2+ ions at 85 ̊C temperature. Deposited films consist of vertically aligned single crystalline ZnO nanorods, where the morphology is found anion dependent. A detailed study of nature of anisotropic grown ZnO nanorods using various Zn-salt and organic anions is executed. A remarkable change in ZnO film morphology is observed with nitrate and sulfate ions, where tip shape changes from pencil like structure to flat hexagonal shape, probably due to the change in polarity.