Epitaxial electrodeposition of ZnO on Au(111) from alkaline solution: exploiting amphoterism in Zn(II)

The amphoteric nature of ZnO is used to produce the material from strongly alkaline solution. The solution pH is lowered globally to produce ZnO powder, and it is lowered locally at a Au(111) surface to produce epitaxial films. ZnO powder is precipitated from a solution of 10 mM Zn(II) in 0.25 M NaOH by simply adding 1 M HNO3 to the solution. For the film electrodeposition, the local pH at the electrode surface is decreased by electrochemically oxidizing the ascorbate dianion. The chemically precipitated ZnO powder grows with a sea urchin-like nanostructure, whereas the electrodeposited films have a columnar structure. ZnO electrodeposited onto a Au(111) single crystal has a ZnO(0001)[1011]//Au(111)[110] orientation relationship.