By assembling a ZnO nanowire (NW) array based nanogenerator (NG) that is transparent to UV light, we have investigated the performance of the NG by tuning its carrier density and the characteristics of the Schottky barrier at the interface between the metal electrode and the NW. The formation of a Schottky diode at the interface is a must for the effective operation of the NG. UV light not only...

GaN nanowires are promising building blocks for future nanoelectronics, optoelectronic devices, and nanogenerators. Here, we report on strong piezoelectricity in individual single-crystal GaN nanowires revealed by direct measurement of the piezoelectric constant using piezoresponse force microscopy. Our experimental results show that individual c-axis GaN nanowires, with a characteristic dimens...

The fabrication of flexible organic photovoltaics (OPVs) which utilize transparent and conducting single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) thin films as current collecting electrodes on plastic substrates in zinc oxide nanowire (ZnO NW)/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices is reported. The bulk heterojunctions for exciton dissociation are created by directly growin...

In this paper microsensing elements with thin piezoelectric films are presented. Three different materials from the basic types – ceramic, metal oxide and polymer, in microsystems for environment parameters control are used. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and lead zirconium titanate (PZT) by sputtering technology from hot targets are deposited. The optimal parameters of the process and thickness of the layer...

We have studied the effect of oxygen plasma treatment on piezoelectric response and on the mechanical stability of ZnO nanorods synthesized on FTO by using ACG method. XRD and SEM techniques have shown highly dense and uniformly distributed nanorods. The piezoelectric properties and mechanical stability of as-grown and oxygen plasma treated samples were investigated by using nanoindentation tec...

We studied the dependence of the output of the piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) on the inclining orientation of the ZnO nanowire arrays (NWAs). The oblique-aligned NWAs were grown by combing a modified oblique-angle sputtering technique for preparing the seed layer and hydrothermal growth. The piezoelectric output of the NWAs was studied by scanning the tip of an atomic force microscope along f...

With the rapid developments in nanotechnology, there has been tremendous interest in ZnO-related nanomaterials because ZnO is a wide band-gap semiconductor and a piezoelectric oxide. As a result, it is useful for optoelectronics, transparent electronics, sensors, and transducers. ZnO crystals have a noncentral symmetric wurtzite structure and are composed of close packed O and Zn2þ layers piled...

Herein, we report an effective, facile, and low-cost route for preparing ZnO hollow microspheres with a controlled number of shells composed of small ZnO nanoparticles. The formation mechanism of multiple-shelled structures was investigated in detail. The number of shells is manipulated by using different diameters of carbonaceous microspheres. The products were characterized by X-ray powder di...

Zinc oxide [ZnO] thin films are deposited using a radiofrequency magnetron sputtering method under room temperature. Its crystalline quality, surface morphology, and composition purity are characterized by X-ray diffraction [XRD], atomic force microscopy [AFM], field-emission scanning electron microscopy [FE-SEM], and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy [EDS]. XRD pattern of the ZnO thin film ...

Quantifying and characterising atomic defects in nanocrystals is difficult and low-throughput using the existing methods such as high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). In this article, using a defocused wide-field optical imaging technique, we demonstrate that a single ultrahigh-piezoelectric ZnO nanorod contains a single defect site. We model the observed dipole-emission pat...