Xi'an Jiaotong University, one of China's top universities based in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, recently found a new method to significantly control the morphology and properties of micro/nano scale Zinc Oxide.

The method was found with advanced in situ transmission electron microscopy technology by the researchers of the school’s micro/nano scale material behavior research center, and has significant implications for the application of ZnO nanowires in nano devices such as nano generators.

This research result has recently been published online in the top journal of the material field (NanoLetters,DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02852).

ZnO nanostructures have received wide attention in the world because of their excellent physical and chemical proerties, good biocompatibility and easy preparation, and they have broad potential applications inelectronics, sensing, luninescence, power generation and biomedicine.

The testing of the ZnO nano structure and the overall performance is developing fast, but the material’s performance has varied greatly in different research teams' results. The analysis showed that these differences were likely to be derived from the differences in material compositions, but the literature survey showed that there was little research on the relationship between the growth conditions and the properties of ZnO nanowires.

In view of the above problems, Wang Xiaoguang, doctoral student at the university’s micro and nano center, found that the nanowires with circular and hexagonal cross sections can be obtained by slight adjustment of nanowire growth conditions after four years of research under the guidance of his advisoer Shan Zhiwei.

Other researchers involved in the research include the center’s associate professor Chen Kai, doctoral student Zhang Yongqiang, master’s degree student Wan Jingchun, professor Li Ju, professor Ma En and Dr. Oden Warren and Dr. Jason Oh at US Hysitron company.