A paper has been published by ACS Applied Nano Materials

This study focuses on the selective growth of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets using surfactant-assisted ionic layer epitaxy (ILE).

Abstract
Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets hold great potential as ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors due to their excellent optoelectronic properties and atomically thin structure. Surfactant-assisted ionic layer epitaxy (ILE) is a simple method for synthesizing monolayer ZnO nanosheets; however, the formation of byproducts, which is detrimental to optoelectronic device applications, is unavoidable. This study reports a strategy to achieve selective growth of ZnO nanosheets during ILE while suppressing byproduct formation. By increasing the surfactant concentration, the zinc precursor was localized at the water-air interface, thereby suppressing byproduct formation and promoting nanosheet growth within a specific concentration window. Through precise control of the zinc precursor concentration within this range, selective growth of ZnO nanosheets with a thickness of approximately 1 nm was successfully achieved. A device composed of a single ZnO nanosheet demonstrated high-speed UV photodetection with a rise time/recovery time of 12.3 ms/24.7 ms, which is faster than previously reported ZnO nanosheet-based devices.

Paper information
Selective growth of ZnO nanosheets via ionic layer epitaxy for UV photodetection application
Ryunosuke Matsumura, Yuta Kazama, Hikaru Saito, Takao Yasui, Yasutaka Matsuo, Akira Nasu, Hiroaki Kobayashi, Sayuki Oka, Narathon Khemasiri, Yohei Yomogida, and Kazuki Nagashima*
ACS Applied Nano Materials, (2025), 10.1021/acsanm.4c07224

About ACS Applied Nano Materials
ACS Applied Nano Materials is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes original research spanning engineering, chemistry, physics, and biology related to nanomaterial applications. The journal focuses on innovative experimental and theoretical research integrating knowledge from materials science, engineering, physics, biosciences, and chemistry to advance practical applications of nanomaterials. Materials within its scope include inorganic, organic, and hybrid nanomaterials, quantum dots, metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles, nanowires and nanotubes, self-assembled nanostructures, 1D and 2D materials, nano-carbon, graphene, and related materials. Applications include catalysis, photocatalysis, sensors, plasmonics, photonics, nanomedicine, energy conversion, energy storage, and nanopatterning.