A study on the influences of processing parameters on the growth of oxide nanorod arrays by sol electrophoretic deposition

Template-based sol electrophoretic deposition has been demonstrated as an attractive method for the synthesis of oxide nanorod arrays, including simple and complex oxides in the forms of amorphous, polycrystalline, and single crystal. This paper systematically studied a number of processing parameters to control nanorod growth by sol electrophoretic deposition. The influences of particle and template zeta potentials, condensation rate, deposition rate (or externally applied electric field), the presence of organic additives, and sol concentration on the growth of nanorod arrays were studied. It was found that higher zeta potential or electric field resulted in higher growth rates but less dense packing. Templates with charge opposite to that of the sol particles prevented formation of dense nanorods, sometimes resulting in nanotubes, depending on the field strength during electrophoresis. In addition, the pH of the sol and chelating additives were also varied and likely affected the deposition process by affecting the condensation reactions.