Hydrothermally grown boron-doped ZnO nanorods for various applications: Structural, optical, and electrical properties

Abstract

The structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO and BZO nanorods were investigated using fieldemission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and van der Pauw Hall-effect measurements. All the nanorods had grown well on the ZnO seed layers and were hexagonal. The BZO nanorods were shorter than the undoped ZnO nanorods, and the BZO nanorods grew shorter with increasing concentration of B to 2.0 at. % while the average length of the nanorods doped with 2.5 at. % B increased from 1620 to 1830 nm. The XRD patterns suggest that the amount of residual stress in the nanorods decreased with increasing concentration of B in the nanorods. The PL spectra showed near-bandedge and deep-level emissions, and B doping also varied the PL properties of the ZnO nanorods. The Halleffect data suggest that B doping also varied the electrical properties such as the carrier concentration, mobility, and resistivity of the ZnO nanorods.