Highly-Ordered Perpendicularly Oriented ZnO Nanobelt Array Films: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application

ZnO nanobelt array films were prepared using an electrodeposition method with liquid crystal template. The as-prepared sample was amorphous and changed to nanocrystalline ZnO after sintered at 500 °C for 1 h. The influences of reaction conditions to the morphology of the samples were checked in detail. When the distance between WE (working electrode) and CE (counter electrode) was 3 mm, the electrodeposition potential was −0.9 V versus SCE (saturated calomel electrode), the electrodeposition temperature was 65 °C and the surfactant concentration was 60 wt%, the ZnO nanobelt arrays were densest, most ordered and perpendicularly oriented. The sintered two-layer film was applied as a photoanode of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC), and a relatively high short-circuit photocurrent density of 10 mA/cm² and an overall light-to-energy conversion efficiency of 2.1% were achieved.