Structural properties and photoluminescence of zinc nitride nanowires

Abstract

Zinc nitride nanowires can be synthesized by nitridation reaction of zinc powder with ammonia gas in 500ml∕min at the nitridation temperature of 600 °C for 120 min. Studies by using x-ray diffraction indicate that zinc nitride nanowires are cubic in structure with the lattice constant a=0.9788nm. Observations by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy show that zinc nitride is of nanowire structure. Typical room temperature photoluminescence spectrum of zinc nitride nanowires exhibits an ultraviolet emission peak at 385 nm (3.22 eV) and a blue emission band centered at 450 nm (2.76 eV).