Electrodeposition of oriented ZnO nanorods by two-steps potentiostatic electrolysis: Effect of seed layer time

Abstract

We studied the effect of seed layer deposition time on the growth of ZnO nanorods by using potentiostatic electrolysis. Microstructural, optical and photoelectrochemical responses of ZnO nanorods were determined from XRD, FE-SEM, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and Mott–Schottky measurements. Changes in seed layer time, crystallinity, diameter and density of ZnO nanorods were examined. The results show that the sample deposited with the seed layer time of 60 s, has a good crystallinity and preferred orientation along the plane (002) and high nanorod density with smaller diameter size. The sample showed an enhanced photoelectrochemical response with low carrier density, compared to other ZnO samples. The optical measurements showed high transmittance and direct band gap of around 3.24 eV. The nanostructured ZnO deposited in this work is a promising candidate for photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications.