Abstract

We present zinc oxide (ZnO) particles obtained inside a porous silicon matrix in the same electrolytic process using a p-type silicon wafer in a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution containing formaldehyde (CH2O) and hydrated zinc sulfate as additives. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the sample confirmed the presence of ZnO with a hexagonal-type wurtzite structure. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples, before and after the functionalization process, were measured to observe the effect of ZnO inside the porous silicon. The PL measurements of porous silicon functionalized with ZnO (ZnO/PS) revealed infrared, red, blue, and ultraviolet emission bands. The ultraviolet region corresponds to the band-band emission of ZnO, and the visible emission is attributed to defects. The results of the nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms of the PS and ZnO/PS samples revealed larger BET surface areas and pore diameters for the ZnO/PS sample. We conclude that ZnO/PS can be obtained in a one-step electrolytic process. These types of samples can be used in gas sensors and photocatalysis.

Highlights

  • In recent years, zinc oxide (ZnO) has been investigated as a functional material for electronic and optoelectronic devices such as gas sensors [1, 2], photodetectors [3], solar cells [4], and laser diodes [5]

  • ZnO is an important semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.36 eV

  • The presence of ZnO inside the porous silicon (PS) matrix was confirmed by XRD

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Summary

Introduction

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been investigated as a functional material for electronic and optoelectronic devices such as gas sensors [1, 2], photodetectors [3], solar cells [4], and laser diodes [5]. The advantages of nanostructures include their high surface/volume ratio and good chemical and thermal stability. These nanostructures typically exhibit photoluminescence (PL) spectra of ZnO composed of a visible blue, green, and red bands related to a level defect emission and ultraviolet band-band emission [8]. Much effort has been focused on nanocomposites based on PS due to its potential applications in silicon-based optoelectronic devices. We believe that the functionalization of PS with ZnO paves the way for integrating ZnO into integrated circuits based

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