Synthesis and optical properties of ZnO nanowires bundles

The uniform bundles of ZnO nanowires have been synthesized in large-scale by an improved microemulsion method at a low temperature in the presence of dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid sodium salt (DBS) and hydrazine. The products are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) and selected-area electron diffraction pattern (SAED). The as-grown ZnO nanowires are uniform with a diameter of 30-50 nm and length about 1.5-2.5 μm and oriented attached as bundles. The nanowires are single crystal and preferentially grew along the [002] facet. The sharp UV emission shifted to 386 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of about 20 nm.