Journal of Applied Electrochemistry

, Volume 48, Issue 1, pp 85–94 | Cite as

Controlled growth of ZnO nanorods via self-assembled monolayer

Research Article
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Abstract

A simple method to achieve tailored growth of ZnO nanorods by employing self-assembled monolayer of alkanethiol molecules on a conductive substrate is introduced. Defects or pinholes in self-assembled monolayer are used to define the nucleation sites of ZnO during electrochemical deposition. The density of ZnO nanorods is tuned by the quality of self-assembled monolayer. A corresponding growth model for the growth of ZnO on self-assembled monolayer-modified substrate is proposed. The dimensions and the nucleation density of ZnO nanorods are tailored by systematically varying the quality of self-assembled monolayer and the parameters of electrochemical deposition. Furthermore, it is shown that this method also allows for laterally patterned growth of ZnO nanorods via microcontact printing of self-assembled monolayer.

Graphical Abstract

Electrochemical deposition of ZnO on Au surface results in dense coverage of ZnO nanorods. Self-assembled monolayers are applied on Au to tune the density of ZnO nanorods. The pinholes in self-assembled monolayer are used to define the nucleation site of ZnO.

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Keywords

ZnO nanorods Self-assembled monolayer Controlled nucleation Tailored nanorod dimensions Patterned growth 
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Supplementary material

10800_2017_1134_MOESM1_ESM.tif (1.1 mb)
Supplementary material 1 (TIF 1099 KB)

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© Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Physics and Earth SciencesJacobs University BremenBremenGermany

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