Low-temperature growth of ZnO nanostructures by oxygen plasma oxidation of ZnCl2

The thermodynamically forbidden reaction between ZnCl2 and O2 was able to take place by using oxygen plasma, yielding cone-shaped ZnO nanostructure. In situ optical emission spectroscopy was used to identify the excited species during the plasma enhanced reaction. The determination of excited temperature suggested that the addition of O2 had great contribution to the enhanced dissociation of ZnCl2. The successful synthesis of ZnO indicates that the chlorides may replace the organometallics as a new precursor in thin film preparation industry.