Correlation between seed layer characteristics and structures/properties of chemical bath synthesized ZnO nanowires

A two-step process including the deposition of a ZnO seed layer on a glass substrate and the subsequent growth of ZnO nanowires in a chemical bath was developed. ZnO seed layers were prepared with various precursor solutions using a spin coating technique. The use of various precursor solutions allows the resulting seed layers to exhibit many different characteristics. The effects of the precursor type and solution concentration on the growth and characteristics of the obtained ZnO nanowires are presented and discussed. In particular, we report an unusual growth kinetics in which the lengthening of the nanowires is proportional to t1.5. A growth model is therefore proposed.