Abstract Thermal oxidation of Zn polycrystalline elemental foils –previously etched at different chemical conditions– was used to study the formation of ZnO structures. Two distinct etching solutions were used: 0.5 M HNO3 and 11 M HNO3. Based on field emission scanning electron microscopy results, by modifying the etching conditions, the ZnO structures were different regarding morphology: needle-like ZnO microstructure arrays were formed when Zn foil was chemically etched using the 0.5 M HNO3 solution, whilst a cross-linked morphology was obtained when the etching solution changed to 11 M HNO3 concentration. However, the elemental mapping showed identical chemical composition of both kinds of ZnO microstructures. The focused ion beam-transmission electron microscopy specimens revealed the occurrence of ZnO nanostructures, in both kinds of as-oxidized samples, obtained after 2 h of thermal oxidation at 400 °C. Finally, both needle- and cross-linked microstructures were evaluated in terms of their optical properties. According to the experimental findings, it was found that these structures can be applied in optoelectronic devices working around the green range of the visible electromagnetic spectrum, exhibiting the cross-linked sample the highest radiation intensity.

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使用热氧化形成 ZnO 结构：先前的化学蚀刻如何有利于针状或交联结构

摘要 Zn 多晶元素箔的热氧化 - 之前在不同的化学条件下蚀刻 - 用于研究 ZnO 结构的形成。使用了两种不同的蚀刻溶液：0.5 M HNO3 和 11 M HNO3。根据场发射扫描电镜结果，通过改变蚀刻条件，ZnO 结构在形貌方面有所不同：当使用 0.5 M HNO3 溶液化学蚀刻 Zn 箔时，形成针状 ZnO 微结构阵列，而交联形貌当蚀刻溶液变为 11 M HNO3 浓度时获得。然而，元素映射显示两种 ZnO 微结构的化学成分相同。聚焦离子束透射电子显微镜标本揭示了 ZnO 纳米结构的出现，在两种氧化态样品中，在 400 °C 下热氧化 2 小时后获得。最后，对针状和交联微结构的光学性能进行了评估。根据实验结果，发现这些结构可以应用于在可见电磁光谱绿色范围附近工作的光电器件中，表现出交联样品的最高辐射强度。