Low-temperature seeding and hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorod on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid)

•Seeding of ZnO nanoparticles via thermal decomposition of an zinc(II) amine complex at 100 °C.•Hydrothermal growth of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on PEDOT:PSS film.•Hybrid nanostructure of ZnO nanorod/PEDOT:PSS on flexible substrate.•Ultra-sensitive ultraviolet photosensor by modulating the conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS film.

This work reports a low-temperature seeding process for hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on flexible polymeric materials. The process involved decomposition of zinc (II) amine complex below 100 °C to form ZnO seeds, followed by hydrothermal growth using zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine under 90 °C. The method enabled the growth of ZnO nanorods on the polymeric film (e.g. PET) or the p-type conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) film. The UV response of the ZnO/PEDOT:PSS nanostructure was investigated.

Graphical abstractLow-temperature seeding allows hydrothermal growth of the ZnO nanorods on the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS film, which leads to an UV sensor based on the change of the conductivity of the ZnO nanorods/PEDOT:PSS film.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide