A simple and cheap way to produce porous ZnO ribbons and their photovoltaic response

A simple and cheap method is proposed to achieve porous ZnO ribbons by oxidation of ZnS ribbons in the air. ZnS has a fully transformation to ZnO at an annealing temperature of 700°C from energy dispersive X-ray spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns. Scanning electron microscopy images indicate that ZnO ribbons keep the original shapes of ZnS, but produce some ordered and uniform pores on their surfaces. The photovoltage spectrum of ZnO/N3 indicates such dye-porous ZnO ribbons may be used in the dye-sensitized solar cells. The porous ZnO ribbons may also find potential applications in catalyst, sensor, and molecular selection. This technique to produce porous ribbons may also be applied to prepare other porous metal oxide ribbons.