Novel spongelike nanostructured ZnO films: Properties and applications

In this work spongelike nanostructured zinc oxide films are proposed and compared to ZnO vertical nano-structures described in literature in terms of crystalline, optical, electrical and piezoelectric properties. Spongelike nanostructured zinc films were grown by room temperature sputtering processes on different kinds of substrates, and wurzitic zinc oxide nanostructured films were successfully obtained by a subsequent low temperature oxidation treatment. This method allowed growing films with thickness of a few micrometers with relatively short deposition time. In order to provide a comprehensive knowledge of their morphological, structural, optical and functional properties, different kinds of measurements, such as FESEM, TEM, XRD, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy and electrical and piezoelectric properties assessment, were performed. The interesting results achieved suggest spongelike ZnO as a promising material for photovoltaic and sensing applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.