Interface and defect structures of Zn–ZnO core–shell nanobelts were investigated by using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Most of the nanobelts could be classified into 2 types, based upon their growth directions: [2¯1▪0] and [00▪1], with the top/bottom surfaces being (00▪1) and (2¯1▪0), respectively. The Zn core and ZnO shell overlapped areas displayed a 2-dimensional moiré pattern that resulted from the lattice mismatch. In the <2¯1▪0> growth nanobelts, a network of 3 sets of misfit dislocations relaxed the mismatch strain in the top/bottom interfaces, and every set rotated by 60° with respect to the other. There were 2 types of grain, in specific orientations, that made up the side wall of the ZnO shell. In the [00▪1] growth nanobelts, a network which contained a set of stacking faults in (00▪1) planes and a set of misfit dislocations in (01▪0) planes played the main role in misfit relaxation. Threading dislocations indicated by terminating moiré fringes were present in both of them, which were located at the small-angle rotated boundary between adjacent misoriented ZnO grains.

Interface and Defect Structures of Zn–ZnO Core–Shell Hetero-Nanobelts. Y.Ding, X.Y.Kong, Z.L.Wang: Journal of Applied Physics, 2004, 95[1], 306-10