Low-temperature fabrication of semi-circular shaped ZnO nanowhiskers using an aqueous solution

Site-selective deposited ZnO nanowhiskers with semi-circular shape were fabricated on the substrates by a simple two-step approach using an aqueous solution at low-temperature of 100 °C. The zinc hydroxide nitrate hydrate prepared by the ultraviolet irradiation was used as a template layer. The forced hydrolysis of a pre-existing template layer in situ at an initial stage in a 200-ml aqueous solution of zinc nitrate hexahydratehexamethylenetetramine- polyethylenimine promoted heterogeneous nucleation and growth of ZnO nanowhiskers by site-selective deposition and resulted in the formation of semi-circular shape.