Directed spatial organization of zinc oxide nanostructures
View Patent ↗A method for controllably forming zinc oxide nanostructures on a surface via an organic template, which is formed using a stamp prepared from pre-defined relief structures, inking the stamp with a solution comprising self-assembled monolayer (SAM) molecules, contacting the stamp to the surface, such as Ag sputtered on Si, and immersing the surface with the patterned SAM molecules with a zinc-containing solution with pH control to form zinc oxide nanostructures on the bare Ag surface.
1. A method to controllably grow zinc oxide nanorods on a surface, comprising:
preparing a stamp with relief structures;
inking said stamp with a solution comprising self-assembled monolayer molecules;
contacting said stamp to a surface, thereby transferring said self-assembled monolayer molecules to said surface; and
contacting an aqueous zinc solution to said surface to grow zinc oxide nanorods on said surface.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said aqueous zinc solution contains a compound for controlling solution pH.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein said compound for controlling solution pH is hexamethylenetetramine.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said aqueous zinc solution comprise zinc nitrate.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein said aqueous zinc solution further comprises a growth modifier.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said growth modifier is selected from sodium citrate and diaminopropane.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein said inking is performed by depositing the solution comprising self-assembled monolayer molecules on said stamp and drying the stamp using a dry inert gas.
8. The method of claim 3 wherein said inking is performed by depositing the solution comprising self-assembled monolayer molecules on said stamp and drying the stamp by a spin-dry method.
9. The method of claim 3 wherein said solution comprising self-assembled monolayer molecules is at a concentration of between 1 and 10 mM.
10. The method of claim 3 wherein said surface comprising silver is on a Si substrate.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein said surface comprises a metal selected from silver and gold or a combination thereof.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein said surface comprises zinc oxide.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein said solution comprising self-assembled monolayer molecules comprises compounds selected from the group consisting of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, 1-dodecanethiol, 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid, and 16-hexadecanethiol.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein said solution comprising self-assembled monolayer molecules is a solution comprising acidic self-assembled monolayer molecules.
15. The method of claim 1 where said stamp comprises polydimethylsiloxane.
16. A method to controllably grow zinc oxide nanorods on a surface, comprising:
preparing a polydimethylsiloxane stamp with relief structures;
inking said stamp with a solution comprising 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid dissolved in an alcohol solvent;
contacting said stamp to a surface comprising silver on a Si substrate, thereby transferring said 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid dissolved in an alcohol solvent to said silver surface; and
immersing the said surface in an aqueous zinc solution containing hexamethylenetetramine at an elevated temperature to grown zinc oxide nanorods on said surface.