Biomorphic synthesis of long ZnO hollow fibers with porous walls

Long biomorphic ZnO hollow fibers with porous walls have been fabricated using cotton fibers as bio-templates. Cotton fibers are infiltrated with zinc acetate aqueous solution and subsequently calcinated in an air atmosphere at high temperatures to remove cotton templates. The as-prepared hollow fibers are as long as several centimeters and replicate not only macroscopic structure of the cotton fibers, but also microscopic morphologies. The calcinating temperatures in the fabrication process have great effects on the surface roughness and wall quality. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.