Synthesis and characterization of quasi-aligned ZnCdO nanorods

Abstract

Quasi-aligned ZnCdO single-crystal nanorods were prepared for the first time by using thermal evaporation of Zn and CdCl2 on a Si substrate with the presence of Au catalyst. The maximum Cd content was up to about 16.7at.%, which was significantly larger than the thermodynamic solid solubility limits. The ZnCdO nanorods have uniform flat hexagonal crystallographic planes with diameters of about 150nm. Notably, with the Cd content increasing, the ultraviolet near-band-edge emission was redshifted to 407nm(3.04eV) from 386nm(3.21eV). The direct modulation of the band gap caused by Cd substitution is responsible for the redshift. The possible growth mechanism of the ZnCdO nanorods was discussed.