Catalyst-Free Synthesis of ZnO Nanowires on Oxidized Silicon Substrate for Gas Sensing Applications

In the present work, we report the synthesis of nanostructured ZnO by oxidation of zinc film without using a seed or catalyst layer. The zinc films were deposited on oxidized Si substrates by RF magnetron sputtering process. These were oxidized in dry and wet air/oxygen ambient. The optimized process yielded long nanowires of ZnO having diameter of around 60-70 nm and spread uniformly over the surface. The effect of oxidation temperature, time, Zn film thickness and the ambient has strong influence on the morphology of resulting nanostruxctured ZnO film. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy for morphological studies and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis to study the phase of the nanostructured ZnO. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements of the nanowires show UV and green emission. A sensor was designed and fabricated using nanostructured ZnO film, incorporating inter-digital-electrode (IDE) for the measurement of resistance of the sensing layer. The gas sensing properties were investigated from the measurement of change in resistance when exposed to vapours of different volatile organic compound (VOC) such as acetone, ethanol, methanol and 2-propanol. The results suggest that ZnO nanowires fabricated by this method have potential application in gas sensors.