Zinc Oxide Nanorods Shielded with an Ultrathin Nickel Layer: Tailoring of Physical Properties

We report on the development of Ni-shielded ZnO nanorod (NR) structures and the impact of the Ni layer on the ZnO NR properties. We developed nickel-capped zinc oxide nanorod (ZnO/Ni NR) structures by e-beam evaporation of Ni and the subsequent annealing of the ZnO/Ni core/shell nanostructures. The core/shell NRs annealed at 400 degrees C showed superior crystalline and emission properties. More interestingly, with the increase of annealing temperature, the crystallinity of the Ni shells over the ZnO NRs gradually changed from polycrystalline to single crystalline. The presence of the Ni layer as a polycrystalline shell completely hindered the light emission and transmission of the ZnO NR cores. Further, the band gap of ZnO NRs continuously decreased with the increase of annealing temperature.