Investigations on the microwave-assisted growth of ZnO nanorods and the performance of nanostructured heterojunction UV photodetector

Abstract

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods have been grown using the microwave-assisted technique. The current approach offers a potential environment for achieving the ultra-fast (3–7 min) growth of ZnO nanorods compared to the conventional aqueous solution method, where the growth proceeds over a longer time in hours. ZnO nanorods have been grown by altering the molarity, microwave power, and growth time. Increasing the molarity and microwave power resulted in increasing dimensions of the nanorods. The growth of the ZnO nanorods began around 3 min, and it was noticed that the length of the nanorods increased as the growth period progressed. The nanorods grown using this technique have been effectively used to fabricate CuI/ZnO nanorods heterojunction.