Highly C-oriented (002) plane ZnO nanowires synthesis.
Ben Moussa Nizar1,2, Mohamed Lajnef2, Julien Chaste1
1Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies, CNRS UMR 9001, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay Palaiseau 91120 France etienne.herth@c2n.upsaclay.fr.
RSC Advances
|May 19, 2023
Summary
Adding a buffer layer of zinc oxide (ZnO) sol-gel thin films enhances the growth of ZnO nanowires (NWs). Thicker buffer layers promote highly C-oriented ZnO NWs, improving their potential for energy harvesting and solar cells.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Solid State Physics
Background:
- Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) are crucial for energy harvesting, sensors, and solar cells.
- Controlling the growth and orientation of NWs is key to optimizing their performance.
- Buffer layers can influence the nucleation and growth of nanostructures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ZnO sol-gel thin films as buffer layers in the chemical bath deposition (CBD) of ZnO NWs.
- To determine how buffer layer thickness affects the morphology, structure, and orientation of ZnO NWs.
- To explore the potential applications of buffer layer-controlled ZnO NWs.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of ZnO NWs using chemical bath deposition (CBD).
- Fabrication of ZnO buffer layers with varying thicknesses (100 nm, 300 nm, 600 nm) using sol-gel method.
- Characterization of ZnO NWs using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy.
Main Results:
- Increased buffer layer thickness promoted the growth of highly C-oriented ZnO (002)-oriented NWs on both silicon and ITO substrates.
- The ZnO buffer layer significantly influenced the surface morphology of the grown NWs.
- Characterization confirmed the structural and optical properties of the ZnO NWs.
Conclusions:
- ZnO sol-gel thin films serve as effective buffer layers for promoting oriented growth of ZnO NWs.
- Buffer layer engineering is a viable strategy to control ZnO NW properties for enhanced device performance.
- The findings suggest broad applicability of these ZnO NWs in various electronic and energy-related fields.
