Vacancy driven surface disorder catalyzes anisotropic evaporation of ZnO (0001) polar surface

Zhen Wang, Jinho Byun, Subin Lee, Jinsol Seo, Bumsu Park, Jong Chan Kim, Hu Young Jeong, Junhyeok Bang (), Jaekwang Lee () and Sang Ho Oh ()
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Zhen Wang: Sungkyunkwan University
Jinho Byun: Pusan National University
Subin Lee: Sungkyunkwan University
Jinsol Seo: Sungkyunkwan University
Bumsu Park: Sungkyunkwan University
Jong Chan Kim: UNIST Central Research Facilities, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Hu Young Jeong: UNIST Central Research Facilities, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Junhyeok Bang: Chungbuk National University
Jaekwang Lee: Pusan National University
Sang Ho Oh: Sungkyunkwan University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The evaporation and crystal growth rates of ZnO are highly anisotropic and are fastest on the Zn-terminated ZnO (0001) polar surface. Herein, we study this behavior by direct atomic-scale observations and simulations of the dynamic processes of the ZnO (0001) polar surface during evaporation. The evaporation of the (0001) polar surface is accelerated dramatically at around 300 °C with the spontaneous formation of a few nanometer-thick quasi-liquid layer. This structurally disordered and chemically Zn-deficient quasi-liquid is derived from the formation and inward diffusion of Zn vacancies that stabilize the (0001) polar surface. The quasi-liquid controls the dissociative evaporation of ZnO with establishing steady state reactions with Zn and O2 vapors and the underlying ZnO crystal; while the quasi-liquid catalyzes the disordering of ZnO lattice by injecting Zn vacancies, it facilitates the desorption of O2 molecules. This study reveals that the polarity-driven surface disorder is the key structural feature driving the fast anisotropic evaporation and crystal growth of ZnO nanostructures along the [0001] direction.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33353-2

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