Highly ordered Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ piezoelectric nanorod arrays

One-dimensional (1D) piezoelectric nanostructures have attracted significant attention for a broad range of applications including optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, electrochemical and electromechanical converters. We demonstrate the synthesis of 1D nanostructures based upon Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ (PZT) on conductive substrates via sol-gel template synthesis. The vertically aligned PZT nanostructures with heights around one micron were synthesized by vacuum infiltration of sol-gel precursors into highly ordered cylindrical pores of anodized aluminum oxide templates. The 1D nanostructures were developed on large scale platinized silicon wafers and exhibited dense rod-like structure with a uniform diameter of 90 nm and an aspect ratio of 10. Scanning probe microscopy conducted on individual nanorods demonstrated good electromechanical properties with a high piezoelectric magnitude of 41 pm V^-1. We believe that this study opens the possibility of developing high performance nanoscale piezoelectric sensors and transducers.