Selective photochemical synthesis of Ag nanoparticles on position-controlled ZnO nanorods for the enhancement of yellow-green light emission

Abstract

A novel technique for the selective photochemical synthesis of silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) on ZnO nanorod arrays is established by combining ultraviolet-assisted nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) for the definition of growth sites, hydrothermal reaction for the position-controlled growth of ZnO nanorods, and photochemical reduction for the decoration of Ag NPs on the ZnO nanorods. During photochemical reduction, the size distribution and loading of Ag NPs on ZnO nanorods can be tuned by varying the UV-irradiation time. The photochemical reduction is hypothesized to facilitate the adsorbed citrate ions on the surface of ZnO, allowing Ag ions to preferentially form Ag NPs on ZnO nanorods. The ratio of visible emission to ultraviolet (UV) emission for the Ag NP-decorated ZnO nanorod arrays, synthesized for 30 min, is 20.5 times that for the ZnO nanorod arrays without Ag NPs. The enhancement of the visible emission is believed to associate with the surface plasmon (SP) effect of Ag NPs. The Ag NP-decorated ZnO nanorod arrays show significant SP-induced enhancement of yellow-green light emission, which could be useful in optoelectronic applications. The technique developed here requires low processing temperatures (120 °C and lower) and no high-vacuum deposition tools, suitable for applications such as flexible electronics.

Comparative Study of ZnO Thin Films Grown on Quartz Glass and Sapphire (001) Substrates by Means of Magnetron Sputtering and High-Temperature Annealing

“…Semiconductor materials play a critical role in modern society and have been made into light emitting diodes (LEDs) [1][2][3], surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices [4], sensors [5][6][7][8], solar cells [9], and so on [4,[10][11][12], which significantly promote our life quality. ZnO is an enduring star of the third-generation semiconductor materials owing to its unique merits.…”

“…First of all, ZnO is non-toxic and of perfect biocompatibility, leading to the great potential applications of biodetectors and biomedical restorative materials [13]. Furthermore, the electrical properties of ZnO can be improved by doping with other elements, and ZnO has been widely applied in LEDs [1,2], laser diodes [4], SAW devices [4], etc. ZnO is of low cost, and Al-doped ZnO is of excellent conductivity as well as cheap, which is considered a superior substitute for the expensive indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conductive material [14][15][16].…”

High selectivity to ethanol gas sensor based on ZnO nanosheets decorated with Ag nanoparticles by aqueous solution and photochemical deposition

“…Currently, there are very many techniques for photochemical reduction of Ag NPs. 39,40 In our case, the method is use sodium citrate as a reducing agent. The citrate ions can effectively reduce silver ions.…”

Electrochemical Properties of Highly Sensitive and Selective CuO Nanostructures Based Neurotransmitter Dopamine Sensor

“…The structural and phase purity of the CuO nanostructured thin film was investigated by XRD measurements (Figure C) . The XRD spectra depict the main diffraction peak at 2θ values of 35.9, 38.2, and 61.8° which are indexed to the reflection planes of (002), (111), and (220), respectively.…”