The effect of Cu doping on the mechanical and optical properties of zinc oxide nanowires synthesized by hydrothermal route

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material with applications in a variety of fields such as electronics, optoelectronic and solar cells. However, much of these applications demand a reproducible, reliable and controllable synthesis method that takes special care of their functional properties. In this work ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanowires are obtained by an optimized hydrothermal method, following the promising results which ZnO nanostructures have shown in the past few years. The morphology of as-prepared and copper-doped ZnO nanostructures is investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction is used to study the impact of doping on the crystalline structure of the wires. Furthermore, the mechanical properties (nanoindentation) and the functional properties (absorption and photoluminescence measurements) of ZnO nanostructures are examined in order to assess their applicability in photovoltaics, piezoelectric and hybrids nanodevices. This work shows a strong correlation between growing conditions, morphology, doping and mechanical as well as optical properties of ZnO nanowires.

Optical properties of ZnO deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Si nanowires

“…ZnO is a wide bandgap (3.4 eV) semiconductor, which has a stable wurtzite structure with lattice spacing a = 0.325 nm and c = 0.521 nm [33,34]. It has attracted intensive research effort for its unique properties such as thermal and chemical stability, optical transparency, and piezoelectricity [35].…”

ZnO-NWs/Metallic Glass Nanotube Hybrid Arrays: Fabrication and Material Characterization

“…48 This result is similar to the UV emission peak from Ni-doped ZnO-NWs. 51 The near bandgap emission maximum of 395 nm in the Cu-MeNTA sample shows is somewhat red-shifted from the Cu-doped ZnO NW in comparison to the un doped structures (385 nm), 52 383 nm for ZnO NW in Pd-MeNTA and similar to Pdnanoparticle-decorated ZnO-NWs and palladium-zinc oxide nanowire nano ber 382 nm. 47,53 Table 3 lists the defect density of the nanowires grown in the various types of MeNTA based on the ratio of NBE to DLE peak intensities (INBE/IDLE).…”

Enhancing photocatalytic performance and solar absorption by schottky nanodiodes heterojunctions in mechanically resilient palladium coated TiO2/Si nanopillars by atomic layer deposition

“…Moreover, Si-NPls are quite attractive structures that have shown wider absorption and enhanced performance due to the clear increment of their active surface. 11,12 However, as photoanode, bare Si suffers from fast degradation and corrosion in aqueous environments, which dramatically limits its operation time 13 Several strategies based on the introduction of protective coatings to hinder surface passivation have been proposed to extend the lifetime of Si based photoanodes 14,15 Additional studies have shown the advantages of TiO2 or ZnO coatings on the performance of Si-NPls, [16][17][18] due to their optical tunability, 6 mechanical reinforcement, 10,19 and high photoactive performance. 6,10 Recently, photoactive junctions of precious metals and semiconducting materials have shown enhanced carrier transport capabilities of photogenerated electrons which could provide a more efficient catalytic performance for water splitting [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] .…”