Electrical properties of rapid hydrothermal synthesised Al-doped zinc oxide nanowires in flexible electronics

Al-doped ZnO nanowires with nanosheets were prepared on a ZnO seeded flexible substrate by rapid hydrothermal synthesis at 90 degrees C. Specifically, the authors investigated the doping effect of Al into ZnO on structural, optical and electrical properties. The Al-doped ZnO nanowires exhibited high transmittance in the visible wavelengths. The optical bandgap of the Al-doped ZnO nanowires was tuned by varying the Al concentration, resulting in a decrease in the electrical resistance of the 2 at.% Al-doped ZnO nanowires. This subsequent decrease revealed that the Al(3+) ions were successfully doped in the ZnO, with a minimal electrical resistance for 2 at.% Al-doped ZnO nanowires.