Abstract
This work has extensively described the construction and characterization of actinomorphic ZnO microneedles decorated with SnO2 nanospheres. Hydrothermal treatment was utilized to fabricate needle-like ZnO microstructures using zinc nitrate tetrahydrate precursor in HMT aqueous solution. ZnO microneedles were then decorated with SnO2 nanospheres using tin (II) chloride dihydrate precursor via the co-precipitation deposition technique to form ZnO–SnO2 heterojunctions. A variety of techniques were employed for characterization of the structure, composition, morphology, and optical properties of the as-produced samples. The XRD and HRTEM results confirmed the formation of the tetragonal rutile SnO2 nanoparticles on the hexagonal wurtzite ZnO microstructures. The existence of surface functional groups and chemical bonding was investigated through FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. FESEM images confirmed actinomorphic needle-like morphologies for both undecorated and decorated samples. EDS analysis verified the existence of Zn, Sn, and O elements. UV–Vis DRS results revealed a blue shift in the adsorption band-edge towards smaller wavelengths after decorating. Photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to examine the recombination rate of photogenerated electron-holes and the presence of structural defects.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
L.F. da Silva, V.R. Mastelaro, A.C. Catto, C.A. Escanhoela Jr., S. Bernardini, S.C. Zílio, E. Longo, K. Aguir, J. Alloys Compd. 638, 374 (2015)
A.C. Catto, L.F. da Silva, C. Ribeiro, S. Bernardini, K. Aguir, E. Longo, V.R, Mastelaro, RSC Adv. 5, 19528 (2015)
B. O’regan, M. Grätzel, Nature 353, 737 (1991)
S.C. Minne, S.R. Manalis, C.F. Quate, Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 3918 (1995)
T. Karimi, A. Haghighatzadeh, Bull. Mater. Sci. 42, 158 (2019)
M. Hosseini, A. Haghighatzadeh, B. Mazinani, Opt. Mater. (Amst) 92, 1 (2019)
J. Liu, T. Wang, B. Wang, P. Sun, Q. Yang, X. Liang, H. Song, G. Lu, Sens. Actuators B Chem. 245, 551 (2017)
M. Zhou, X. Zhang, J. Wei, S. Zhao, L. Wang, B. Feng, J. Phys. Chem. C 115, 1398 (2010)
A. Runa, X. Zhang, G. Wen, B. Zhang, W. Fu, H. Yang, Mater. Lett 225, 73 (2018)
G.R.S. Andrade, C.C. Nascimento, Z.M. Lima, E. Teixeira-Neto, L.P. Costa, I.F. Gimenez, Appl. Surf. Sci. 399, 573 (2017)
Y. Zou, Y. Li, N. Zhang, X. Liu, Bull. Mater. Sci. 34, 967 (2011)
Z. Peng, G. Dai, P. Chen, Q. Zhang, Q. Wan, B. Zou, Mater. Lett. 64, 898 (2010)
A. Amutha, S. Amirthapandian, B. Sundaravel, B.K. Panigrahi, K. Saravanan, P. Thangadurai, J. Appl. Phys. 120, 205104 (2016)
L.F. Da Silva, O.F. Lopes, A.C. Catto, W. Avansi, M.I.B. Bernardi, M.S. Li, C. Ribeiro, E. Longo, RSC Adv. 6, 2112 (2016)
O.D. Jayakumar, C. Sudakar, A. Vinu, A. Asthana, A.K. Tyagi, J. Phys. Chem. C 113, 4814 (2009)
H. Kind, H. Yan, B. Messer, M. Law, P. Yang, Adv. Mater. 14, 158 (2002)
X. Bai, E.G. Wang, P. Gao, Z.L. Wang, Nano Lett. 3, 1147 (2003)
T. Ning, Y. Zhou, H. Shen, H. Lu, Z. Sun, L. Cao, D. Guan, D. Zhang, G. Yang, Appl. Surf. Sci. 254, 1900 (2008)
Z.L. Wang, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 16, R829 (2004)
L.F. Koao, F.B. Dejene, H.C. Swart, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 27, 33 (2014)
R. Wahab, S.G. Ansari, H.-K. Seo, Y.S. Kim, E.-K. Suh, H.-S. Shin, Solid State Sci. 11, 439 (2009)
S. Kuriakose, B. Satpati, S. Mohapatra, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 16, 12741 (2014)
K.-Y. Pan, Y.-H. Lin, P.-S. Lee, J.-M. Wu, H.C. Shih, J. Nanomater. 2012, 6 (2012)
H.W. Kim, S.H. Shim, Appl. Surf. Sci. 253, 510 (2006)
A.S. Ismail, M.H. Mamat, M.F. Malek, M.M. Yusoff, R. Mohamed, N.D.M. Sin, A.B. Suriani, M. Rusop, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 81, 127 (2018)
S.-B. Choi, W.S. Lee, C. Lee, S. Lee, Appl. Phys. A 124, 817 (2018)
I.Y.-Y. Bu, Optik (Stuttg) 157, 406 (2018)
L. Wang, J. Li, Y. Wang, K. Yu, X. Tang, Y. Zhang, S. Wang, C. Wei, Sci. Rep. 6, 35079 (2016)
S. Abbasi, M. Hasanpour, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 28, 1307 (2017)
B. Zhang, W. Fu, H. Li, X. Fu, Y. Wang, H. Bala, G. Sun, X. Wang, Y. Wang, J. Cao, Mater. Lett. 160, 227 (2015)
A. Haghighatzadeha, B. Mazinanib, M. Shokouhimehrc, L. Samieed, Desalin. Water Treat. 92, 145 (2017)
S.S. Kanmani, K. Ramachandran, Renew. Energy 43, 149 (2012)
I. Rawal, RSC Adv. 5, 4135 (2015)
N. Selvi, S. Sankar, Int. J. Chem. Technol. Res. 6, 5665 (2014)
H.M. Chenari, R. Zamiri, D.M. Tobaldi, M. Shabani, A. Rebelo, J.S. Kumar, S.A. Salehizadeh, M.P.F. Graça, M.J. Soares, J.A. Labrincha, J. Sol Gel Sci. Technol. 84, 274 (2017)
N. Ahmad, S. Khan, M.M.N. Ansari, Phys. B Condens. Matter 558, 131 (2019)
A. Kar, S. Kundu, A. Patra, J. Phys. Chem. C 115, 118 (2010)
R. Zhang, P.-G. Yin, N. Wang, L. Guo, Solid State Sci. 11, 865 (2009)
M. Abrari, M. Ahmadi, M. Ghanaatshoar, H.R. Moazami, S.S.H. Davarani, J. Alloys Compd. 784, 1036 (2019)
J. Wang, Z. Chen, Y. Liu, C.-H. Shek, C.M.L. Wu, J.K.L. Lai, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 128, 254 (2014)
S. Kumar, R. Nigam, V. Kundu, N. Jaggi, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 26, 3268 (2015)
Y.-F. Tu, Q.-M. Fu, J.-P. Sang, Z.-J. Tan, X.-W. Zou, Mater. Lett. 86, 80 (2012)
A.A. Sokol, S.A. French, S.T. Bromley, C.R.A. Catlow, H.J.J. van Dam, P. Sherwood, Faraday Discuss. 134, 267 (2007)
F. Oba, M. Choi, A. Togo, I. Tanaka, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 12, 34302 (2011)
D. Sett, S. Sarkar, D. Basak, RSC Adv. 4, 58553 (2014)
L. Shi, Y. Xu, S. Hark, Y. Liu, S. Wang, L. Peng, K. Wong, Q. Li, Nano Lett. 7, 3559 (2007)
J. Li, D. Zhao, X. Meng, Z. Zhang, J. Zhang, D. Shen, Y. Lu, X. Fan, J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 14685 (2006)
S.Z. Li, C.L. Gan, H. Cai, C.L. Yuan, J. Guo, P.S. Lee, J. Ma, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 263106 (2007)
A. Sadeghzadeh-Attar, M.R. Bafandeh, CrystEngComm 20, 460 (2018)
Y.-F. Tu, Q.-M. Fu, J.-P. Sang, X.-W. Zou, J. Mater. Sci. 47, 1541 (2012)
Acknowledgements
The current study was partially supported by Ahvaz Branch of Islamic Azad University. The authors would like to thank the Research Council for their generous support of this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haghighi, S., Haghighatzadeh, A. Actinomorphic ZnO microneedles decorated with SnO2 nanospheres: synthesis, characterization and optical studies. Appl. Phys. A 126, 107 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-3294-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-3294-1