Title: Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Synthesis of Colloidal Crystal Templated Nanostructured Single-Crystalline ZnO

Abstract

Single crystal semiconductors almost always exhibit better optoelectrical properties than their polycrystalline or amorous counterparts. While three-dimensionally (3D) nanostructured semiconductor devices have been proposed for numerous applications, in the vast majority of reports, the semiconductor is polycrystalline or amorphous, greatly reducing the potential for advanced properties. While technologies for 3D structuring of semiconductors via use of a 3D template have advanced significantly, approaches for epitaxially growing nanostructured single crystal semiconductors within a template remain limited. Here, we demonstrate the epitaxial growth of 3D-structured ZnO through colloidal templates formed from 225 nm and 600 nm diameter colloidal particles via a low-temperature (~80 °C) hydrothermal process using a flow reactor. The effects of the pH of the reaction solution as well as the additive used on the 3D epitaxy process are investigated. The optical and electrical properties of the epitaxially grown nanostructured ZnO are probed by reflectance, photoluminescence, and Hall effect measurements. It is found that the epitaxially grown nanostructured ZnO generally exhibits superior properties than those of polycrystalline ZnO. The demonstrated hydrothermal epitaxy process should be applicable to other chemical solution-based deposition techniques and help extend the range of materials that can be grown into a 3D nanostructured single-crystalline form.

Authors:

Miyake, Masao  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Miyake, Masao"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-8208-4030"

Suginohara, Makoto ^[2]; Narahara, Naoto ^[2]; Hirato, Tetsuji ^[2]; Braun, Paul V.  ^[3]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Braun, Paul V."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-4079-8160"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Kyoto Univ. (Japan); Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
2. Kyoto Univ. (Japan)
3. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)

Publication Date:

Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017

Research Org.:

Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

OSTI Identifier:

1470417

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0001293

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Chemistry of Materials

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 29; Journal Issue: 22; Related Information: LMI partners with California Institute of Technology (lead); Harvard University; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Journal ID: ISSN 0897-4756

Publisher:

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; solar (photovoltaic), solid state lighting, phonons, thermal conductivity, electrodes - solar, materials and chemistry by design, optics, synthesis (novel materials), synthesis (self-assembly)