Formation of Surface Conductivity of Zinc Oxide Nanorods

This article shows the effect of a strong increase in the electrical conductivity of a coating of ZnO nanorods when a thin dielectric layer of aluminum oxide is deposited on their surface. It is shown that the initial ZnO nanorods have intrinsic point defects, and the deposition of a thin dielectric layer of aluminum oxide affects the optical density spectrum of the nanorods. A strong increase in the electrical conductivity of ZnO nanorods is associated with the inclusion of aluminum atoms in the defect crystal lattice of the near-surface region of the ZnO nanorod and its doping. The obtained uniform coatings of conducting ZnO nanorods can be used as nanostructured transparent conducting electrodes for the formation of bulk heterojunctions of photovoltaic structures.