Fast and High-Performance Self-Powered Photodetector Based on the ZnO/Metal-Organic Framework Heterojunction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Electrically conductive metal-organic frameworks (EC-MOFs) are promising materials for optoelectronics.
• ZnO nanorods (NRs) are widely used in optoelectronic devices.
• Fabricating efficient heterojunctions is key to enhancing device performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To in situ grow nickel hexahydroxytriphenylene (Ni-CAT) on ZnO NRs.
• To fabricate self-powered photodetectors (PDs) using ZnO/Ni-CAT heterojunctions.
• To investigate the effect of the built-in electric field (BEF) on photodetector performance.

Main Methods:

• In situ growth of Ni-CAT on ZnO NRs.
• Fabrication of ZnO/Ni-CAT heterojunctions for PDs.
• Characterization of photodetector performance under light illumination.

Main Results:

• The ZnO/Ni-CAT heterojunctions effectively separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs via the BEF.
• PDs based on ZnO/Ni-CAT-3 (3 h growth) exhibited a photoresponse of 137 μA/W.
• Fast rise (3 ms) and decay (50 ms) times were observed at 450 nm without applied bias.

Conclusions:

• A facile and controllable method for growing ZnO/Ni-CAT heterojunctions was developed.
• The effective BEF zone enhances the photoresponse of the fabricated PDs.
• These findings benefit the development of advanced optoelectronic devices.