Strain-induced Wurtzite to h-BN Phase Transformation in Zinc Oxide nanorods

Atomistic simulations are utilized to demonstrate a strain-induced phase transformation in Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanowires. The strain-induced transformation occurs by the propagation and annihilation of (0001) planes, and the Wurtzite nanorod is transformed into a hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) phase. Quantitative structural, mechanical and energetic analyses were performed to verify Wurtzite to h-BN transformation during uniaxial tensile test in [1010] direction.