In-situ one pot synthesis of graphene-ZnO nanohybrid and its application to UV light detection

Abstract

The development of molecular/nanoscale level assemblies allows the foundation of many potential novel applications. Chemical approach is one of the most favoured techniques to manipulate the nano-materials in a controllable manner. Herein, we report a simple and reliable one pot technique for preparing graphene-ZnO nanohybrid by coordinating zinc metal ions from precursor, which further led to the growth of ZnO nanoparticles on graphene sheets. The developed heterostructures were characterized through X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transformed infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Morphological details revealed the dense loading of ZnO nanoparticles onto the surface of graphene. The nanohybrid was found to be electrically more responsive to the incident UV light compared to ZnO nanoparticles alone. The proposed method can lead to the fabrication of highly sensitive flexible light detector.