Synthesis and characterization of ZnO/MgZnO heterostructure nanorods by simple two-step evaporation

ZnO-core/MgZnO-shell heterostructure nanorods with high aspect ratio were synthesized using a two-step thermal evaporation procedure, in which the core and the shell layers were formed separately at different temperatures. Microstructural characterization revealed a position dependence of the crystal structure and composition in the shell layer. The shell layer in the upper region consisted of MgO with quantum dot-like structure having cubic phases embedded in an amorphous oxide layer, while a Mg0.35Zn0.65O shell layer with a self-assembled superlattice structure of triple periodicity was formed in the middle region.