Fabrication of nitrogen-doped ZnO nanorod arrays by hydrothermal synthesis and ambient annealing. Issue 42 (28th June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kobayashi, Ryosuke; Kishi, Tetsuo; Katayanagi, Yuta; Yano, Tetsuji; Matsushita, Nobuhiro
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 8:Issue 42(2018)
• Page Start: 23599
• Page End: 23605
• Publication Date: 2018-06-28
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c8ra04168g
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanorod arrays were fabricated by hydrothermal synthesis using a zinc–ammine complex solution, followed by annealing under ambient conditions. Abstract : Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanorod arrays (N:ZnO NRAs) were fabricated by hydrothermal synthesis using a zinc–ammine complex solution, followed by annealing at elevated temperatures under ambient conditions. After annealing at 400 °C for 1 h, Raman spectra indicated that nitrogen was incorporated in the ZnO crystal structure. NH3 -ligands in the zinc–ammine complex precursor were incorporated in ZnO crystals during hydrothermal crystal growth and were then ruptured during annealing. Photoluminescence spectra indicated that during post-annealing, the nitrogen was incorporated into the oxygen site, which created accompanying defects such as oxygen vacancies and/or interstitial oxygen. The absorption edge in diffuse-reflectance UV-visible spectra revealed visible absorption after post-annealing. In addition, the N:ZnO NRAs generated strong visible-light-induced photocurrents. Nitrogen doping caused a decline in carrier density, as confirmed by an electrochemical Mott–Schottky plot. These results suggest that this cost-effective fabrication has many potential applications such as solar-induced water splitting.