Abstract
In this work, porous silicon (PSi) was prepared by electrochemical etching and used as a template for ZnO nanostructures. ZnO nanostructures were grown using the catalytic immersion method at different molar ratio concentrations of the precursor and stabilizer. The ZnO nanostructures were analyzed using FESEM and photoluminescence (PL) spectrometry, before tested with ethanol solution. The population of the ZnO nanostructures on PSi increased with the concentration and followed the surface morphology of PSi. The photoluminescence spectra of ZnO show two dominant peaks in the UV and visible regions. When the concentration of the precursor increased, the PL peaks in the visible region (630 nm) shifted towards the blue region of the spectrum. The PSi/ZnO nanostructure chemical sensor has a large surface area, reversing sensor and fast response in ethanol. The performance of the sensor was affected by the morphology and defect structures of the ZnO nanostructures layer.
Highlights
In the semiconductor industry, many types of materials, such as silicon, gallium arsenic, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (ZnO), are used as base materials
The porous silicon (PSi) surface is a sponge-like structure, which consists of a large number of pores on the surface help the ZnO nanostructures to incorporate into the pores
When ZnO is deposited on PSi, it is deposited along the outer wall of the pores of the Porous silicon nanostructures (PSiNs), either partially or completely covering the porous surface
Summary
Many types of materials, such as silicon, gallium arsenic, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (ZnO), are used as base materials. ZnO is a piezoelectric material that can be used in sensor and transducer applications. ZnO nanostructures grown on Si-based substrates receive significant attention silicon is stable and resistant to high temperatures. ZnO nanostructures have been synthesised by various methods, such as chemical vapour deposition, an electrochemical method, RF magnetron sputtering and the sol-gel method [7,8,9,10]. In this work the sol-gel thermal solution-immersion method was selected because of its simplicity, safety, low cost, low-temperature deposition and large coating area. The urea was used as a stabilizer and zinc nitrate hexahydrate as a precursor to synthesize the ZnO nanostructures on PSi at different concentrations without using any catalyst material. The asgrown ZnO nanostructures were characterized using FESEM and PL spectroscopy and tested with ethanol solution by using EIS measurement
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