title: Sol-gel synthesized zinc oxide nanorods and their structural and optical investigation for optoelectronic application.
abstract: Nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) with hexagonal wurtzite structures were synthesized using an easy and low-cost bottom-up hydrothermal growth technique. ZnO thin films were prepared with the use of four different solvents, namely, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and 2-methoxyethanol, and then used as seed layer templates for the subsequent growth of the ZnO NRs. The influences of the different solvents on the structural and optical properties were investigated through scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. The obtained X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the synthesized ZnO NRs were single crystals and exhibited a preferred orientation along the (002) plane. In addition, the calculated results from the specific models of the refractive index are consistent with the experimental data. The ZnO NRs that grew from the 2-methoxyethanol seeded layer exhibited the smallest grain size (39.18 nm), largest diffracted intensities on the (002) plane, and highest bandgap (3.21 eV).
authors.affiliation: Nano Biochip Research Group, Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis 01000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kai Loong
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.affiliation: Nano Biochip Research Group, Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis 01000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Uda
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hashim
authors.affiliation: Nano Biochip Research Group, Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis 01000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kashif
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.affiliation: Nano Biochip Research Group, Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis 01000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chun Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Voon
keywords: Bandgap; Hydrothermal growth; Refractive index; Solvent; Zinc oxide nanorods