Number Density and Diameter Control of Chemical Bath Deposition of ZnO Nanorods on FTO by Forced Hydrolysis of Seed Crystals |
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| Authors: | Venkata Manthina Tulsi Patel Alexander G Agrios |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut, , Storrs, Connecticut, 06269;2. Center for Clean Energy Engineering, University of Connecticut, , Storrs, Connecticut, 06269;3. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, , Storrs, Connecticut, 06269 |
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| Abstract: | ZnO nanorods have been studied extensively due to facile synthesis and useful optoelectronic properties for applications in nanoscale devices. In a common two‐step procedure, an ethanolic Zn2+ precursor solution is used to deposit ZnO seed crystals on a substrate, which is then immersed in an aqueous Zn2+ precursor solution to grow the nanorods. Here, a forced hydrolysis technique was employed based on additions of water and heat to the seed precursor solution before depositing the seeds on commercial fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO)/glass substrates. ZnO nanorods were then grown from these seeds by chemical bath deposition. Analyses showed that the forced hydrolysis resulted in an increase in seed crystallite size and a decrease in the number of seeds deposited. With increasing seed size, the number density of nanorods decreased, while the length and diameter of each rod increased. These findings offer a simple method for exerting control over the number density of ZnO nanorods that is compatible with the rough FTO surface, unlike other methods that require smoother substrates. |
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