Large-scale preparation of porous ultrathin Ga-doped ZnO nanoneedles from 3D basic zinc carbonate superstructures

A facile procedure for large-scale preparation of porous ZnO 1D nanomaterials with good electrical conductivity has been demonstrated for the first time. Porous ultrathin Ga-doped ZnO nanoneedles can be prepared by calcining the precursor of ultrathin Ga-doped basic zinc carbonate (BZC) nanoneedles obtained from BZC 3D superstructures, which are synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method at room temperature, without using any catalyst, template or surfactant. There is evidence that the growth mechanisms of the BZC 3D superstructures and nanoneedles are correlated with the concentrations of ammonium ions and ethanol in the synthesis solution. The as-prepared porous Ga-doped ZnO nanoneedles have a thickness of only a couple of nanometers, consisting of many fine nanoparticles in a few nanometers. Electrical conductivity measurements indicate that porous ultrathin ZnO nanoneedles have a volume resistivity similar to that of the spherical Ga-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The porous nanostructures and good electrical conductivity make the porous ultrathin ZnO 1D nanoneedles promising candidates for applications in electrochemical fields.