Influence of process temperature on ZnO nanostructures formation

The obtained new results of ZnO nanostructures formation in a zinc nitrate/hexamethylenetetramine solution by hydrothermal method on the lithium niobate substrates with synthesized seed-layer by sol-gel technique were presented. The influence of process temperature on morphometric properties of synthesized structures was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. ZnO nanostructured thin film with the thickness of 3.75 μm which consisted of flake-shape particles was synthesized at 65°C. ZnO nanorods with the diameter of 35-65 nm, and the length of about 0.5 μm and single-crystal structure were formed at 95°C. ZnO nanostructured films could be used as sensing element of electrochemical enzyme sensors for biomedical or environmental monitoring, as well as the functional material of hybrid solar cells, which are photovoltaic devices of third generation, while ZnO nanorods could be used as active element of acoustic wave sensors and promote quality and accuracy enhancement of such devices.