l-Alanine capping of ZnO nanorods: increased carrier concentration in ZnO/CuI heterojunction diode

ZnO nanorods were capped with a simple amino acid, viz., l-alanine to increase the carrier concentration and improve the performance of ZnO/CuI heterojunction diodes. The effect of l-alanine capping on the morphology, structural, optical, electrochemical and electrical properties of ZnO nanorods had been studied in detail. The stable structure with two equally strong Zn-O coordinate bonds predicted by density functional theory was in agreement with the experimental results of FTIR spectroscopy. Due to the presence of electron-releasing (+I effect) moieties in l-Alanine, the carrier concentration of capped ZnO nanorods was two orders of magnitude higher and the ZnO/CuI heterojunction device showed more than a two-fold increase in the photovoltaic power conversion efficiency.