The Electrochemical Assembly of ZnO Nanostructures Through the Modification and Influence of Soft Templates in Reverse Micelle

Abstract

Electrochemical assembly of ZnO nanostructures in reverse micelle through the modification and influence of the soft template have been successfully performed. It has been found that the morphologies of ZnO are greatly influence by the added Li⁺ or K⁺ rather than current density. The reason is that alkali metal ions will accumulate at the interface of the cathode/solution and influence the flexibility of soft template. As can be seen, only random sheet can be obtained without alkali metal ions while different ZnO nanostructures can be obtained after the addition of alkali metal ions (Li⁺ or K⁺). After the addition of Li⁺, a diverse variety of nanostructures are obtained. This can be due to the existence of Li⁺ ions which makes the soft template more flexible and the ions easier to get through. Then higher nucleation rate is gained for the easier accumulation of ions which contributes to larger polarization over-potential. With the addition of K⁺, flower-like nanostructures are obtained.