Comparison of nanographene and Au nanoparticles on electrohydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods

Nanographene/ZnO nanorods/Ti and Au nanoparticles/ZnO nanorods/Ti nanocomposites were produced on electrohydrothermally deposited ZnO nanorods (NRs) on polished Ti substrates. Two distinct characteristics were observed on these nanocomposites. Based on multiple analyses, including scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), Au nanoparticles (NPs) were uniformly distributed along the grown ZnO nanorods (NRs), but a major part of the nanographenes covered the top of the nanostructures. These results may be caused by the viscosity of the nanographene. Integrating the electrochemical and hydrothermal growth of NRs, nanographene dripping, and polished Ti substrates is promising for future nanobased devices.