Density-Controlled Electrodeposition Growth of Zinc Oxide Nanorod Arrays

Density-controlled zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays were synthesized on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates via a potentiostatic electrodeposition method under different conditions. The effects of preparing conditions on the density of nanorods were systematically investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It is demonstrated that the density and diameter of ZnO nanorods can be effectively controlled by varying the electrodeposition parameters, such as electrodeposition potential, concentration of Zn²⁺ precursor and growth temperature. Pre-treatment of the substrate also has great influence on the morphology of the electrodeposited ZnO nanorods. By coating the ITO substrates with an gold (Au) or ZnO nanoparticle seed layer, ZnO nanorod arrays with an average diameter of about 50 nm were synthesized, and the nanorod density can be controlled to above 50 × 10⁸ rod cm–₂, which is several dozen times greater than that of the ZnO nanorod arrays synthesized on original ITO substrates.