Growth of ZnO nanorods on graphite substrate and its application for Schottky diode

Abstract

We report on the growth of ZnO nanorods (NRs) grown on graphite and silicon substrates via an all-solution process and also studied the characteristics of their heterojunctions. Structural investigations indicated that morphological and crystalline properties were not significantly different for the ZnO NRs on both substrates. However, optical properties from photoluminescence spectra showed that the ZnO NRs on graphite substrate contained more point defects than that on Si substrate. The ZnO NRs on both substrates showed typical rectification properties exhibiting successful diode formation. The heterojunction between the ZnO NRs and the graphite substrate showed a Schottky diode characteristic and photoresponse under ultraviolet illumination at a small reverse bias of -0.1 V. The results showed that the graphite substrate could be a good candidate for a Schottky contact electrode as well as a conducting substrate for electronic and optoelectronic applications of ZnO NRs. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.