Aqueous synthesis of interconnected ZnO nanowires using spray pyrolysis deposited seed layers

Interconnected ZnO nanowires were grown in a two-stage process, using spray pyrolysis deposited ZnO seed layers as a nucleation platform for subsequent hydrothermal growth. We present a comparison between the effect of these spray pyrolysis deposited seed layers and well-ordered sputter deposited seed layers, along with their respective ZnO nano-morphologies that were obtained via hydrothermal growth. It will be shown that the growth of interconnected ZnO nanowires was influenced by the physical and crystallographic orientations of the underlying seed crystallites. Sputtered seed layers resulted in fairly vertical nanorods which were approximately 80 nm in width, while seed layers deposited by spray pyrolysis resulted in arrays of interconnected ZnO nanowires measuring approximately 15 nm in width.