| One dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructure becomes a research focus in recent years. On the one hand, ZnO itself possesses structural, electrical and optical properties that make it useful for a diverse range of technological applications. On the other hand, semiconductor nanowire owns many advantages, such as superiority in electron transport and its high surface to volume ratio. Aligned ZnO 1D nanostructures on conducting substrates are of special interests, as they are easy to be integrated into devices, directly working as functional unit.;In this study, a solution chemistry based method to grow aligned ZnO nanorod arrays on Zn foil is developed at first. Effects of various growth parameters, including the temperature, solution composition and the concentration of individual components on the morphology, structural quality, and properties of the ZnO nanorods are studied. The average diameter of the nanorods in the array can be tuned from ∼20 nm to ∼150 nm by systematically changing the growth conditions. Nanorods with larger diameters are found to be of better structural quality as compared to the smaller diametered ones, as suggested by the cathodoluminescence measurement. Following similar logic, a vapor transport deposition route on controllable fabricating of the ZnO nanorod arrays is investigated. The average diameter of the ZnO nanorods can be tuned from less than 40 nm to larger than submicron, by controlling the fabrication conditions. Larger-diametered nanorods that grow on higher temperature zone are found to possess higher band edge to defect emission ratio.;Green emission is observed from the ZnO nanorods synthesized by both methods, which is commonly attributed to the surface defect emission from the nanostructure. We modify surface of the nanorods with SiO 2 and investigate the relation between green emission and the surface defect. However, the surface passivation fails to reduce the green emission significantly, suggesting that surface defects of ZnO are not necessarily responsible for the green emission, but the interior structure quality of the ZnO nanorods decides the luminescence behavior.;At last, a thermal evaporation method that modifies the surface of ZnO nanorods and forms core shell structure is developed, which structure constitutes the photoelectrode for solar energy application. Single crystal ZnO nanorods are uniformly covered by wurtzite polycrystalline CdxZn1-x SySe1-y layer. The band gap of the shell can be systematically tuned from 2.5 to 1.7 eV by varying its composition, as suggested by the optical extinction measured of the samples. The type II band alignment between the ZnO core and the alloy shell enables effective photo-generated charge carrier separation, and the single crystalline ZnO nanorod array provides a direct electrical pathway for the photo-injected electron transport. The nanocable solar cells exhibited short-circuit current ∼0.2 mA/cm 2 and open-circuit voltages of 0.45 V when illuminated with 100 mW/cm 2 simulated AM 1.5 spectrum. |
