Abstract
A detailed comparative study of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) grown by thermal annealing method in air, oxygen and water loaded oxygen environments was carried out. The number density, diameter and length of the NRs were studied as a function of annealing temperature and duration of anneal in all the three environments. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photo-luminescence spectroscopy (PL) were used for the characterizations. The growth in water loaded oxygen environment was best and led to a very high density, good aspect ratio NRs of very good optical quality as compared to the other two environments. The environment and annealing temperature critically influenced the density and aspect ratio whereas the duration of annealing affected mainly the aspect ratio of NRs. It was also found that water vapor increased the density of NRs growth by an order. It has been proposed that the growth of NRs takes place due to the relaxation of stress accumulated in oxide film during the process of oxidation and annealing.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
