ZNO NANORODS BY A SIMPLE TWO STEP PROCESS

Low-dimension materials such as nanobelts, nanowires and nanorods are being investigated for their superior properties and numerous applications. Among them, one-dimensional semiconductor ZnO, representing one of the most important low dimensional materials, finds its applications in many different fields such as sensors, solar cells, IR detectors, microelectronics, etc. Synthesis of nanostructures without any catalytic template, or using the self-catalytic behavior of the material would be of interest. In this work, ZnO nanorods have been synthesized by simple two step process without using any catalyst. This method provides an easy way to produce nanostructured metal oxides under normal conditions. The prepared samples were characterized by studying their structural, optical and morphological properties using X-Ray Diffraction, Photoluminescence and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The diameter of the prepared nanorods were around 20-30 nm. The room temperature Photoluminescence spectra of the ZnO nanorods shows a broad visible emission around 450-530 nm.