Catalyst-free growth of ZnO nanowires on ITO seed layer/glass by thermal evaporation method: Effects of ITO seed layer laser annealing temperature

Abstract

Novel catalyst-free growth of ZnO nanowires (ZnO-NWs) on ITO seeds/glass substrate by thermal evaporation method, and effects of continuous wave CO2 laser thermal annealed seed layer on the morphology and properties of ZnO-NWs growth were investigated. The effects of sputtered ITO seed layer laser annealing temperature on the morphological, structural, and optical properties of ZnO-NWs was systematically investigated at temperatures 250, 350, and 450 °C, respectively. The surface morphology and structure of the seeds and the products of ZnO-NWs were characterized in detail by using field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Optical properties were further examined through photoluminescence, and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. A growth mechanism was proposed on the basis of obtained results. The results showed that the nanowires were strongly dependent on the seed layer annealing temperatures, which played an important role in nucleation and dissimilar growth of the nanowires with varying sizes and geometric shapes.