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 200 MeV Xe14+ swift heavy ions (SHIs) to a fluence of 5.0 × 1013 ions/cm2. 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.