Synthesis of ZnO Nanorod Arrays on Chaleted Sol-Gel-Derived ZnO Thin Films and its Optical Absorption in Visible-Light Region

Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays on Chaleted Sol-Gel-Derived ZnO thin films was achieved at a temperature of 90°C by a surfactant-assisted soft chemical approach. The nanorod arrays were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, and UV-Vis absorbance spectra. The ZnO nanorod arrays are wurtzite crystal stuctures preferentially orienting in the direction of the c-axis and ZnO nanorods are grown verticallyon the substrate. The XPS analysis shows the Zn:O ratio of ZnO nanorod arrays near is 1:1. The UV-Vis absorbance spectra indicate that ZnO nanorod arrays have absorption of visible-light as well as ultraviolet-light. Therefore, the ZnO nanorods may be good candidates for visible-light photocatalysis materials from the viewpoint of practical applications.