Hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanowires on paper for flexible electronics

Author

Xiao Li ; Xinyu Liu

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. Eng., McGill Univ., Montreal, QC, Canada

fYear

2014

fDate

18-21 Aug. 2014

Firstpage

981

Lastpage

985

Abstract

Seamless integration of functional nanomaterials on paper can boost the functionality of paper-based flexible electronics. In this article, we report the successful growth of zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs) on paper substrate through a low-cost hydrothermal process. We experimentally confirm the necessity of ammonium hydroxide as assistant chemical in the growth solution. We quantify the growth rate of ZnO NWs over growth time, and characterize the electrical property of the ZnO-NW paper. To highlight potential applications of the ZnO-NW paper, we demonstrate the use of ZnO-NW paper for ultra-violet light and touch sensing. The presented work provides technical insight for successful hydrothermal growth of ZnO NWs on paper, and could further inspire novel utilization of ZnO-NW paper for flexible electronics.

Keywords

II-VI semiconductors; flexible electronics; nanoelectronics; nanowires; paper; semiconductor growth; wide band gap semiconductors; zinc compounds; ZnO; ammonium hydroxide; electrical property; functional nanomaterials; growth time; hydrothermal growth; low-cost hydrothermal process; nanowires; paper substrate; paper-based flexible electronics; touch sensing; ultraviolet light; Chemicals; Electrodes; Nanowires; Resistance; Sensors; Substrates; Zinc oxide;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO), 2014 IEEE 14th International Conference on

Conference_Location

Toronto, ON

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NANO.2014.6968184

Filename

6968184