Influence of the hydrothermal method growth parameters on the zinc oxide nanowires deposited on several substrates

We report the synthesis of ZnO nanowires grown on several substrates (PET, glass, and Si) using a two-step process: (a) preparation of the seed layer on the substrate by spin coating, from solutions of zinc acetate dihydrate and 1-propanol, and (b) growth of the ZnO nanostructures by dipping the substrate in an equimolar solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine. Subsequently, films were thermally treated with a commercial microwave oven (350 and 700 W) for 5, 20, and 35 min. The ZnO nanowires obtained were characterized structurally, morphologically, and optically using XRD, SEM, and UV-VIS transmission, respectively. XRD patterns spectra revealed the presence of Zn(OH)on the films grown on glass and Si substrates. A preferential orientation along c-axis directions for films grown on PET substrate was observed. An analysis by SEM revealed that the growth of the ZnO nanowires on PET and glass is better than the growth on Si when the same growth parameters are used. On glass substrates, ZnO nanowires less than 50 nm in diameter and between 200 nm and 1200 nm in length were obtained. The ZnO nanowires band gap energy for the films grown on PET and glass was obtained from optical transmission spectra.