Vertical Growth of ZnO Nanorods Prepared on an ITO-Coated Glass Substrate by Hydrothermal-Electrochemical Deposition

In this study, ZnO nanorods were grown on indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate using a hydrothermal-electrochemical method in a Zn(NO3)(2) aqueous solution. To optimize the properties of ZnO nanorods grown on the ITO-coated glass substrate, the effects of growth parameters, such as the thickness of ZnO seed layer (0-70 nm), the addition of NaOH additive, the applied potential (-0.6--1.2 V), and the growth temperature (120-180 degrees C) were examined with respect to the morphological, structural, photoluminescence, and transmittance properties of the nanorods. An improvement in the UV-visible ratio of the ZnO nanorods was obtained by increasing the thickness of the seed layer and by increasing the applied potential and the growth temperature with the addition of a NaOH solution. Based on the combined results of this study, the vertical ZnO nanorods produced on the ITO-coated glass substrate hold great promise for use in the development of high-performance optoelectronic devices and other applications. (C) 2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.078206jes] All rights reserved.