Swift Heavy Ion Irradiation Of Zno Nanoparticles Embedded In Silica: Radiation-Induced Deoxidation And Shape Elongation

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in amorphous SiO2 were irradiated with 200MeV Xe-14 swift heavy ions (SHIs) to a fluence of 5.0 x 10(13) ions/cm(2). Optical linear dichroism was induced in the samples by the irradiation, indicating shape transformation of the NPs from spheres to anisotropic ones. Transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that some NPs were elongated to prolate shapes; the elongated NPs consisted not of ZnO but of Zn metal. The SHI irradiation induced deoxidation of small ZnO NPs and successive shape elongation of the deoxidized metal NPs. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.