Experimental evidence and physical understanding of ZnO vapor-liquid-solid nanowire growth

Metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport is one of most popular techniques for ZnO nanowires preparation, and the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process is recognized to be responsible for ZnO nanowires growth upon metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport. However, there have been very few investigations to provide substantial experimental evidence for supporting ZnO VLS nanowires growth upon metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport, so far. Herein, we report a study of ZnO nanowires growth using metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport based on laser ablation, and we provide solid experimental evidence for the VLS process of ZnO nanowires.