Hierarchical ZnO nanostructures with blooming flowers driven by screw dislocations

Hierarchical ZnO nanostructures with a large yield were fabricated by a simple thermal evaporation method. For the first time, novel ZnO flowers were observed blooming at certain sites of a variety of spines, identified as Zn-terminated polar (0001) planes or tips. The spines for as-synthesized hierarchical structures can be nanowires, nanobelts, nanodendrites, nanobrushes, etc. This growth phenomenon determines the key role of polar sites in the fabrication of hierarchical structures. The spiral feature of ZnO flowers indicates an unusual screw dislocation driven growth mechanism, which is attributed to a high concentration of Zn vapor.