Abstract
•This paper summarizes the previous and recent advances of ZnO-NWs.•The work unraveled the benefit of irradiation on ZnO-NWs in harsh environments.•The effects of various energy photons where discussed.•Irradiated samples help in optimizing the properties of ZNO-NWs.
It is a misunderstanding that higher energy ion irradiation on nanomaterials has only detrimental effects on their properties. Recent research reveals that higher energy irradiation on nanostructure materials is favorable with advantageous effects. Light, medium, heavy ions, and high energy photons serve as a veritable tool to synthesized nanowires for these effects. In this article, experimental research on the impact of ion species and high energy photons irradiation on structured ZnO nanowires (ZnO-NWs) and at different ion energies (keV to MeV), ion fluences, and substrate temperatures are discussed. The study has revealed that ZnO-NWs structures were damaged at high irradiation fluence under room temperature. Moreover, the porous structures of ZnO-NWs are created by light ions irradiation at a higher temperature. It is noteworthy that the effect of these irradiation beams induced-cutting of ZnO-NWs and fabrication of nano-holes in ZnO-NWs valuable for nano-devices in space technology under harsh environment.