J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2014, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (12): 1167-1173.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2014.11.005

• Orginal Article •     Next Articles

Ultralong and Mesoporous ZnO and γ-Al2O3 Oriented Nanowires Obtained by Template-assisted Hydrothermal Approach

Carminna Ottone1, 2, Vivian Farías Rivera1, 2, Marco Fontana1, 2, Katarzyna Bejtka1, Barbara Onida2, Valentina Cauda1, *   

  1. 1、Center for Space Human Robotics@Polito, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Trento, 21, Turin, Italy; 2、ipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi, 24, Turin, Italy
  • Revised:2014-07-28 Online:2014-12-20 Published:2015-07-23
  • Contact: *Corresponding author. Ph.D.; Tel.: t39 (0)110903436; Fax: t39 (0) 110903401; E-mail addresses: carminna.ottone@iit.it (C. Ottone), vivian. fariasrivera@gmail.com (V. Farías Rivera), marco.fontana@iit.it (M.Fontana),katarzyna.bejtka@iit.it (K. Bejtka), barbara.onida@polito.it (B. Onida), valentina.cauda@iit.it (V. Cauda).
  • Supported by:
    The help of Dr. Angelica Chiodoni for FESEM imaging is gratefully acknowledged.

Abstract: Highly mesoporous ZnO and γ-Al2O3 nanowires (NWs) are both synthesized by a hydrothermal method using commercially available porous anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) as template. AAO membrane acts as template for ZnO NWs and both as template and precursor for γ-Al2O3 NWs. The formation of intermediate phases of porous Zn6Al2(OH)16CO3 and boehmite (γ-AlOOH) were observed, both occurring during the hydrothermal synthesis of porous ZnO and γ-Al2O3 NWs, respectively, and disappearing after annealing at 600 °C. This novel template-assisted hydrothermal process leads to the formation of porous ZnO and γ-Al2O3 NWs (specific surface area of 192 m2 g-1 and 263 m2 g-1, respectively), showing pore sizes around 4 nm in diameter. The influence of the reaction parameters on the nanostructure morphology was also investigated. A ZnO seed layer, deposited on the AAO channels prior to the hydrothermal synthesis, leads to more compact ZnO nanowires (99 m2 g-1) protecting the AAO host from the chemical attack of the precursor solution.

Key words: Mesoporous ZnO nanowires, Mesoporous γ, -Al2O3 nanowires, Boehmite, Template-assisted method, Hydrothermal synthesis