Stress-driven formation of terraced hollow oxide nanorods during metal oxidation

作者：Zhou Guangwen^*

来源：Journal of Applied Physics, 2009, 105(10): 104302.

DOI：10.1063/1.3118572

• atomic force microscopy
• copper
• copper compounds
• elongation
• interface states
• metallic thin films
• nanostructured materials
• nanotechnology
• oxidation
• semiconductor epitaxial layers
• semiconductor growth
• semiconductor materials
• stress effects
• transmission electron microscopy

We report the formation of terraced hollow Cu(2)O nanorods upon oxidation of Cu(100) thin films at similar to 600 degrees C. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy observations reveal that the oxide islands have an initially square pyramid shape that transits to an elongated nanorod shape and then to a terraced hollow nanorod morphology as the oxide growth proceeds. A mechanism based on the relaxation of interfacial epitaxial stress followed by the release of the bulk stress induced by the large volume expansion accompanying the conversion of metal into oxide is proposed to explain the pathway of the morphological evolution of this new oxide structure.

• 出版日期2009-5-15