Growth of ZnO Nanorods from Zn and Zn‐ Zn₃N₂ Films Available to Purchase

This work reports on the growth of ZnO nanorods by simple thermal oxidation under air at 500°C of Zn and/or Zn‐Zn₃N₂ precursors thin films. These films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering in argon atmosphere for Zn films and in a mixture of Ar ‐ N₂ for Zn‐Zn₃N₂. X‐ Rays diffraction (XRD) patterns of the precursors films showed the formation of both Zn and Zn₃N₂ phases before oxidation. However, after oxidation, X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed the disappearance of Zn₃N₂ phase. This method allowed us to prepare high‐density ZnO nanorods by oxidizing Zn‐Zn₃N₂ precursor films. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) investigations revealed that the films prepared from Zn‐Zn₃N₂ showed higher density of nanorods and stronger photoluminescence with several mode phonon replicas at room temperature.