Influence of synthesis temperature on ZnO nanostructure morphologies and field emission properties

This paper describes a study on the influence of fabrication temperature on morphologies and field emission properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures, which were synthesized by the oxidation of zinc vapor. By adjusting the growth temperature, ZnO multipods, tetrapods, nanoneedles and nanowires were fabricated at 620, 770, 840, and 900 °C, respectively. Field emission measurements showed that the turn-on field was 2.1, 2.9, 4.4 and 5.5 V/μm, respectively, for ZnO multipods, tetrapods, nanoneedles, and nanowires. And there was much difference in their maximum emission current densities as well. The mechanism of how the synthesis temperature influences the morphologies and field emission abilities of ZnO nanostuctures was discussed in detail.