Nanoporous characteristics of sol-gel-derived ZnO thin film

Sol-gel-derived nanoporous ZnO film has been successfully deposited on glass substrate at 200 degrees C and subsequently annealed at different temperatures of 300, 400 and 600 degrees C. Atomic force micrographs demonstrated that the film was crack-free, and that granular nanoparticles were homogenously distributed on the film surface. The average grain size of the nanoparticles and RMS roughness of the scanned surface area was 10 nm and 13.6 nm, respectively, which is due to the high porosity of the film. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the nanoporous ZnO film at room temperature show a diffused band, which might be due to an increased amount of oxygen vacancies on the lattice surface. The observed results of the nanoporous ZnO film indicates a promising application in the development of electrochemical biosensors due to the porosity of film enhancing the higher loading of biomacromolecules (enzyme and proteins).