A close correlation between nucleation sites, growth and final properties of ZnO nanorod arrays: Sol-gel assisted chemical bath deposition process

Different ZnO seed layers are synthesized by changing sol-gel parameters, including precursor concentration, type of solvent, and type of additive in order to systematically investigate the importance of seed layer properties on the nucleation, growth, and final properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod (NR) arrays. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) show the importance of the seed layer on ZnO NRs properties. Results verify that the relative intensity (RI factor) of (002) polar planes in the XRD patterns of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) together with the aspect ratio, density, and alignment of ZnO NRs control the structural characteristics of those arrays. For instance, the RI factor of ZnO NPs and NRs follow the same trend when changing precursor concentration in sol preparation step. However, the importance of other parameters, including aspect ratio, density, and alignment of NRs is confirmed by changing solvent and additive. In addition, FESEM images show that the density of ZnO NRs is proportional to NPs density and inversely proportional to the size of ZnO NPs in the seed layers. Besides, the significant role of wrinkled inter-layer on NRs properties, together with the formation mechanism of that inter-layer are profoundly investigated.