In this work, we have demonstrated that amorphous ZnO nanobranches (a-ZnO NBs) could spontaneously react from the crystalline ZnO NWs (c-ZnO NWs) at specific humid environment. The spontaneous reaction mechanism and result can be analyzed by humidity controlling and optical microscope (OM)/scanning electron microscope (SEM)/Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM)/transmission electron microscopy (...

In this paper, we present a simple method for preparation of graphene-ZnO nanocomposites (G-ZnO). The method is based on thermal treatment of the graphene oxide (GO)/ZnO paste which reduces the graphene oxide into the graphene and leads to the formation of the G-ZnO nanocomposite. The structure, morphology and optical properties of synthesized nanocomposites are characterized with XRD, FESEM, F...

Hierarchical flower-like ZnO nanorods, net-like ZnO nanofibers and ZnO nanobulks have been successfully synthesized via a surfactant assisted hydrothemal method. The synthesized products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. A possible growth mechanism of the various hierarchical ZnO nanostructures is discussed in detail. G...

Wurtzite Zinc-Oxide (w-ZnO) is a wide bandgap semiconductor that holds promise in power electronics applications, where heat dissipation is of critical importance. However, large discrepancies exist in the literature on the thermal conductivity of w-ZnO. In this paper, we determine the thermal conductivity of w-ZnO using first-principles lattice dynamics and compare it to that of wurtzite Galli...

ZnO/CdS heterostructured nanocomposites were fabricated with enhanced light harvesting capability and photostability using sequential sonochemical and hydrothermal methods from ZnO rods and particles. Interestingly, in the composite made up of CdS sensitized ZnO rods, both ZnO and CdS exist in the hexagonal wurtzite form with different morphologies. On the other hand, in the composite made up o...

A combination of 3-dimensional (3D) hollow mesoporous ZnO microspheres (ZnO HMSP) and vertically grown one-dimensional ZnO nanowires (1D ZnO NWs) on a fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate has been investigated as a photoanode for a CdS quantum dot-sensitized solar cell (QSSC). A comparative study of the photovoltaic performance of the solar cell with devices fabricated with pri...

In this research, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) was used for patterning crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods on the silicon substrate. To fabricate nano-patterned ZnO nanorods, patterning of an n-octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on SiO2 substrate was prepared by the polymer mask using NI. The ZnO seed layer was selectively coated only on the hydrophilic SiO2 surf...

ZnO/nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (ZnO/NCNT) composite, prepared though a simple one-step sol-gel synthetic technique, has been explored for the first time as an anode material. The as-prepared ZnO/NCNT nanocomposite preserves a good dispersity and homogeneity of the ZnO nanoparticles (~6 nm) which deposited on the surface of NCNT. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals the formation o...

ZnO microspheres, ZnO microflowers and ZnO nanorods are successfully synthesized via a convenient solvothermal method in distilled water-ethanol mixed medium. The as-prepared ZnO micro/nanomaterials are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, BET, and UV-Vis. The morphologies and exposed facets of the ZnO micro/nanomaterials can be controlled by simply changing the volume ratio of distilled...