Int. J. Nanotechnology, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2004 431 Copyright © 2004 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Nanobelt and nanosaw structures of II-VI semiconductors Christopher Ma, Daniel Moore, Yong Ding, Jing Li and Zhong Lin Wang* School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0245, USA E-mail: zhong.wang@mse.gatech.edu *Corresponding author Abstract: The II-VI semiconductors are important optoelectronic, luminescent, and lasing materials. This paper presents a review on synthesis, structure, and growth mechanisms of one-dimensional nanostructures of ZnS, CdSe, ZnSe, CdS and CdO. The two most frequently received wurtzite structures of these materials are ‘nanobelts’ and ‘nanosaws’. The nanosaws are suggested to be a result of atomic-termination induced asymmetric growth due to the cation-terminated, catalytically active (0001) surface, while the anion-terminated (000 1 ) is chemically inactive. It has also been shown that the phase transformation from wurtzite to zinc blend could also be a factor in initiating the growth of the saw teeth. The applications and nanodevices that have been built using nanobelts are also presented. Keywords: nanobelt; nanosaw; II–VI Semiconductors; CdSe; CdS; ZnS; ZnSe; nanoribbon. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ma, C., Moore, D., Ding, Y., Li, J. and Wang, Z.L. (2004) ‘Nanobelt and nanosaw structures of II-VI semiconductors’, Int. J. Nanotechnology, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp.431–451. Biographical notes: Christopher Ma is a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He graduated in 2000 from Coe College with a BA in Physics. He is a Molecular Design Institute (MDI) Fellow (2001–2002) and a Presidential Fellow. Currently, his research interests are synthesis and characterisation of one-dimensional II-VI semiconductors. Daniel Moore is a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He graduated in 2001 from the University of Chicago with an AB in Physics and Mathematics. He is a MDI Fellow (2002–2003), a Presidential Fellow, and a Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Fellow (2003–2004). Currently, his research interests are one-dimensional non-oxide nanostructures and nanoscale materials for biomedical applications. Yong Ding received his PhD degree in condensed matter physics from Nanjing University in 2001. He was a research scientist in Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Germany during 2002-2003. He is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests are focused on the synthesis, charaterisation and application of low-dimensional materials.