Electrodeposition of ZnO nanowire arrays with tailored dimensions: building blocks for photoelectrochemical devices

Ramon Tena-Zaera; Jamil Elias; Claude Lévy-Clément

doi:10.1117/12.735499

11 September 2007 Electrodeposition of ZnO nanowire arrays with tailored dimensions: building blocks for photoelectrochemical devices

Ramon Tena-Zaera, Jamil Elias, Claude Lévy-Clément

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6650, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology II; 66500A (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.735499
Event: Solar Energy + Applications, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

ZnO nanowire arrays appear as one of the most promising building blocks for photoelectrochemical devices. ZnO can be efficiently sensitized to solar light absorption by lining its surface with a solar light absorber or by doping with metal transition impurities. The particular morphology of ZnO nanowires may induce light scattering, increasing solar light absorption in the sensitizer. The electrodeposition of ZnO nanowire arrays from oxygen reduction was investigated in this work using Zn²⁺ precursor salts such as ZnSO₄ and Zn(CH₃COO)₂ instead of the most frequently used ZnCl₂. Important differences in the dimensions of the obtained nanowires were observed. The influence of the adsorbing behavior of Cl^-, SO₄^- and CH₃COO^- anions on the growth mechanism was discussed depending of the Zn²⁺ precursor. The anion concentration in solution was determined not only by the zinc precursor, but also by the supporting electrolyte (NaCl, Na₂SO₄ and CH₃COONa) concentrations. By using anions that exhibit different adsorbing properties on the different ZnO crystalline faces, a new strategy was developed to tailor the dimensions of the ZnO nanowires. The effects of nanowire length on the light scattering were investigated by optical spectroscopy. An overview of the influence of these effects on the sensitization of ZnO nanowires to solar light was presented by using ZnO/CdSe core-shell nanowires as an example.

Citation Download Citation

Ramon Tena-Zaera, Jamil Elias, and Claude Lévy-Clément "Electrodeposition of ZnO nanowire arrays with tailored dimensions: building blocks for photoelectrochemical devices", Proc. SPIE 6650, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology II, 66500A (11 September 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.735499

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