Surface characterisation of ZnO nanorods
The surface composition of as-grown and annealed ZnO nanorods (ZNs) grown by a two-step chemical bath deposition method was investigated by the following surface-sensitive techniques: Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES). The presence of H on the surface and throughout the entire thickness of ZNs was confirmed by TOF-SIMS. Based on TOF-SIMS results, the O2 XPS peak mostly observable at 531.5 was assigned to O bound to H. Furthermore, it was found that the near surface region of as-grown ZNs is Znrich, and annealing at high temperature (850°C) removes H-related defects from the surface of ZNs and affect the balance of zinc and oxygen concentrations. More detailed information can be found here.
