Zn cluster drifting effect for the formation of ZnO 3D nanoarchitecture

Metal catalysts are widely used for nanowire (NW) growth and are one of the essential parameters that dictate the crystal growth phenomena, thus controlling the NW's morphology. Although extensive research has been conducted on catalyst effects, the catalyst drifting effect is generally underestimated for controlling the morphology of nanostructures grown at a relatively high temperature. In this paper, we report a discovery of Zn cluster drifting phenomenon during ZnO vapor deposition. Because of the deposition of ZnO along the drifting path, the dynamic process of cluster drifting could be visualized after the growth. This phenomenon provides a sound explanation of the formation of randomly orientated ZnO nanowall networks. The cluster drifting direction could be intentionally directed by designing the surface inclination, through which a partially parallel aligned ZnO vertical nanofin array was created. This 3D nanoarchitecture would possibly provide a novel configuration for designing high performance integrated nanodevices. The drifting of Zn clusters could be a general phenomenon for most metal catalysts and would provide a new insight into nanofabrication and nanodevice development.