Solution growth of ZnO nanostructure arrays on FTO substrates at near room temperature

Abstract

Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays were grown on seeded fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates via a facile solution processing method at 35°C, while misaligned hexagonal ZnO nancone arrays were synthesized on nonseeded FTO substrate under the same growth condition. It was found that the ZnO seed layer on FTO glass played a major role in deciding the morphology and alignment of the ZnO nanostructures, and the tin oxide (SnO2) layer only played a secondary role. The excellent lattice matching condition of homoepitaxy, which could lower the activation energy barrier to facilitate epitaxial nucleation and growth, promoted the uniformity and alignment of ZnO nanostructures. The well-aligned nanorod arrays will provide an important feature for future electronic devices.