Effect of precursor concentration on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods prepared by hydrothermal method

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods has attractive properties for nanoscale optoelectronic applications, such as optical sensors, ultraviolet laser diodes, and photodetectors. ZnO nanorods, can be fabricated by simple and low cost chemical approach, such as hydrothermal method. In this method, the morphology, microstructure, optical and electrical properties of ZnO nanorods are highly determined by process parameters such as solvent, deposition time, deposition temperature as well as annealing condition. In this paper we report the fabrication of ZnO nanorods that were grown on transparent conducting indium tin oxide coated glass substrates. Initially, ZnO seed layers were deposited on heated substrates with temperature of 450 °C using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method with frequency of 1.7 MHz and then grown by hydrothermal method with three different precursor concentrations, namely 0.02 M, 0.06 M, and 0.1 M. The surface morphology and structure were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), while the optical properties were observed by photoluminescence (PL) and and UV VIS reflectance spectroscopy.