Design of Solution-Grown ZnO Nanostructures

Abstract

The renewed interest of the scientific community in zinc oxide (ZnO) during the last decade has been mostly powered by the development of new low-temperature methods for the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures with a controlled morphology. The wide variety of morphology includes nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorods, nanotubes, nanosheets, as well as nanoporous films. The present chapter is a review of the most recent progresses made in the design of these structures by the use of different solution-based low-temperature preparation methods. The methods include chemical, sol-gel and hydrothermal synthesis, electrospinning, electroless deposition and electrodeposition. Special attention is paid to the preparation of organic/inorganic hybrid films, to patterning and to the doping of nanostructured ZnO layers. The interest in these nanostructures is illustrated by a large variety of applications, such as in solar cells, light emitting diodes (LED), photocatalysis and surfaces with controllable wettability.