Title
Accelerated growth of nanostructured ZnO films via low temperature microwave-assisted H2O oxidation for solar cell applications
Author
Christian Mark Pelicano; Hisao Yanagi
Year
2020
Journal
Applied Surface Science
Abstract
Herein, the accelerated growth of nanostructured ZnO films via a facile, sustainable and low-temperature microwave-
assisted H2O oxidation is presented for the first time. This novel technique involves the oxidation of Zn
thin films in pure H2O under microwave irradiation to form nanostructured ZnO films. ZnO nanorods (NRs) were
readily obtained after 30 min of microwave irradiation without the presence of any catalysts, surfactant or
ligands. Moreover, increasing the irradiation time led to the conversion of NRs to honeycomb-like structures
composed of nanotubes (NTs). The high-quality crystalline nature of the nanostructured ZnO films was established
from XRD, Raman and HRTEM analyses. Based on XPS analysis, the duration of irradiation time controlled
the amount of OH– group on the surface of the ZnO films. Insignificant amount of oxygen vacancies and OH–
group were found for the films obtained at longer irradiation time. Most notably, the ZnO film with honeycomblike
structure formed after 2 h of irradiation exhibited the most promising electron-transporting capability based
on steady-state PL analysis. These results highlight the potential of H2O-oxidized nanostructured ZnO films as
electrode for photovoltaic devices. Finally, this study offers a promising approach which could sustain the requirements
of future ZnO-based optoelectronic devices.
Instrument
NRS-4100
Keywords
Raman imaging microscopy, Nanostructured ZnO films; Microwave; H2O oxidation;Solar cells