One-dimensional and two-dimensional ZnO nanostructured materials on a plastic substrate and their field emission properties

Abstract

One-dimensional ZnO nanopillars of diameter 80-120 nm and two-dimensional nanowalls of thickness 100-300 nm are electrochemically grown at 70 deg;C on a flexible polyester substrate. The low turn-on electric fields measured at a current density of 1 μA/cm2 for nanopillars (1.2 V/μm) and nanowalls (2.2 V/μm) illustrate their superior field emission properties to most of the reported ZnO nanostructures. The present method of direct electrodeposition of ZnO on plastic without the need of template or catalyst offers a low-cost technique for fabricating field emission devices on flexible substrates for large-area display and other technologies. © 2008 American Chemical Society.