Manipulation and adhesion force measurements of carbothermal grown ZnO nanorods on Si(111) wafer

Abstract

ZnO nanorods prepared via carbothermal reduction process are imaged and manipulated using AFM probe with radius of curvature of 10 nm. Force curves are measured on the sample to investigate the adhesion of the ZnO rods onto the Si(111) wafer. By exposing the ZnO rods in a steam-rich environment and subsequent cooling, the adhesion force increases by 5 times. After the water treatment, the manipulation becomes dependent on the aspect ratio of the ZnO rods. High aspect ratio of ZnO rods are fixed while low aspect ratio rods are movable. The water treatment is efficient for imaging ZnO rods with low aspect ratio and radius up to 2.5 μm. ZnO rods with radius less than 1μm need not to undergo water treatment for manipulation.