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Characterization of structural and electrical properties of ZnO tetrapods

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Abstract

ZnO tetrapods were synthesized by a typical thermal vapor-solid deposition method in a horizontal tube furnace. Structural characterization was carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and select-area electron diffraction (SAED), which shows the presence of zinc blende nucleus in the center of tetrapods while the four branches taking hexagonal wurtzite structure. The electrical transport property of ZnO tetrapods was investigated through an in-situ nanoprobe system. The three branches of a tetrapod serve as source, drain, and “gate”, respectively; while the fourth branch pointing upward works as the force trigger by vertically applying external force downward. The conductivity of each branch of ZnO-tetrapods increases 3–4 times under pressure. In such situation, the electrical current through the branches of ZnO tetrapods can be tuned by external force, and therefore a simple force sensor based on ZnO tetrapods has been demonstrated for the first time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yu-dong Gu

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332-0245, USA

    Yu-dong Gu & Wen-jie Mai

  3. Department of Physics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Wen-jie Mai

  4. National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China

    Peng Jiang

Authors
  1. Yu-dong Gu
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  2. Wen-jie Mai
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  3. Peng Jiang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wen-jie Mai.

Additional information

This work was financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) (No.20083019), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos.21611603, 21611424, and 216113143), Jinan University Start-up Funds (No.50624019), and the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.KJCX2-YW-M13).

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Gu, Yd., Mai, Wj. & Jiang, P. Characterization of structural and electrical properties of ZnO tetrapods. Int J Miner Metall Mater 18, 686–690 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-011-0497-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-011-0497-7

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