The study on preparation of ZnO nanowire in AAO by electrodeposition method

Ordered zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays embedded in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template were fabricated by electrodepositing zinc (Zn) and then oxidizing the deposited Zinc. The microstructures and compositions of Zn/AAO, ZnO/AAO assemblies were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that the Zn nanowire arrays are uniformly assembled into the nanochannels of AAO with the high filling ratio. Through a thermal treatment in oxygen atmosphere at 700°C for 36h, the deposited Zinc oxidized completely. Photoluminescence (PL) measurement of the ZnO/AAO assembly exhibits a strong 496nm emission band which is contributed by the various defects of ZnO.