Xiang Yang Kong and Zhong Lin Wang  "Spontaneous Polarization-Induced Nanohelixes, Nanosprings, and Nanorings of Piezoelectric Nanobelts"  Nano Lett.; 2003; 3(12) pp 1625 - 1631; (Letter) DOI: 10.1021/nl034463p

Description:

Could these be holiday ornaments for nano-Christmas?  They are scanning electron microscopy images of nanohelixes formed by single-crystal ZnO piezoelectric nanobelts. The nanohelix and nanoring are formed to reduce the electrostatic energy introduced by the spontaneous polarization across the thickness of the nanobelt, owing to the presence of large polar surfaces. The shapes of the nanohelix and nanoring are determined by minimizing the energy contributed by electrostatic interaction and elasticity. This is the first observation of helical nanostructures from a single-crystal material. The piezoelectric and possibly ferroelectric nanobelts have potential as surface selective catalysts, sensors, transducers, and electromechanical devices for MEMS, NEMS, and biotechnology.

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