Large scale fabrication of quasi-aligned ZnO stacking nanoplates

The large scale fabrication of quasi-aligned ZnO stacking nanoplates was achieved for the first time by low-temperature solution growth with assistance of citrate. Each nanoplate is composed of two or several parallel stacking nanosheets in back-to-back way with the same central axis. These nanosheets are of single crystalline and with two large surfaces as +/-(0001) planes. Remarkably, these stacking nanoplates approximately vertically stand on the substrate by their side small planes, and their surface morphology and verticality can be further adjusted by the molar ratio of citrate to Zn2+ ions. The formation mechanism was considered according to the effect of introduced ions on the nucleation and growth process. These ZnO nanoplates with multilayer stacking and vertical alignment features have large specific surface area and c plane exposure and hence would have great potential advantages for correlative proper-ties.