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Hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on electrospun polyamide nanofibers

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Abstract

We report for the first time the hydrothermal growth of radially aligned ZnO nanorods on electrospun polyamide nanofibers, paving the way to the development of transparent, flexible, portable, solution processable, and low-cost thin-film photovoltaics. Polyamide nanofibers with mean diameters of 100 nm were prepared by electrospinning followed by a two-step hydrothermal growth method for fabricating ZnO nanorods. The loading ratio of ZnO nanorods were found to be 66 wt% by thermogravimetric analysis, significantly higher than the ZnO grown on cotton and nylon fabrics previously. A significant increase of UV absorption was observed. Superhydrophobicity, which is a desirable feature of selfcleaning photovoltaic devices, was achieved using 1-dodecanethiol modification.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The University of Tulsa for its support. We greatly appreciate the financial support from The University of Tulsa Institute of Nanotechnology, TU Student Research Grants Program, and the Faculty Development Summer Fellowship and Research Programs for financial support. We would also like to thank Mr Rick Portman and Mr Winton Cornell for their help with SEM and XRD analysis, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Keplinger Hall, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74104, USA

    Thushara J. Athauda &  Ruya R. Ozer

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74104, USA

    Umaiz Butt

Authors
  1. Thushara J. Athauda
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  2. Umaiz Butt
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  3. Ruya R. Ozer
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Correspondence to Ruya R. Ozer.

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Athauda, T.J., Butt, U. & Ozer, R.R. Hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on electrospun polyamide nanofibers. MRS Communications 3, 51–55 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2012.33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2012.33

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