ZnO nanorods on conductive substrates. Technology and features

For obtaining ZnO nanorods (NRs) on the surface of highly conductive brass substrates, the technology of surface oxidation in argon plasma ion flows was developed that allows the formation of NRs by high-frequency helicon discharge at temperatures T ≤ 550 °C. A physical mechanism for the formation of ZnO NRs on the brass substrate is considered. The morphological, structural and physical properties of the NR samples were investigated using standard methods of research: scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman scattering, photoluminescence and optical reflectance spectra. The features of the ZnO NRs’ optical reflectance properties in terms of the location of the Restrahlen band are discussed. The quality of such nanorods is confirmed by fine details in photoluminescence and Raman shift data.