Electron energy-loss spectroscopy study of ZnO nanobelts.

Nanobelts of ZnO have well-defined shapes that are enclosed by {0001}, {0110} and {2110} facets. The nanobelts grow along [0110] and [2110] with large flat surfaces of +/-(0001) and +/-(0110), respectively. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy has been applied to study the electronic structure of ZnO nanobelts of different growth orientations. A plasmon peak observed at 13 eV is suggested to be the result of polar surface excitation. The energy-loss near-edge structure of the oxygen K and zinc L3 edges acquired from the two types of nanobelts show clear orientation dependence, and they agree well to the calculated results.