Deposition of Vertically Aligned High Aspect Ratio Zinc Oxide Nanorods for UV and Gas Sensing Applications

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to optimize and evaluate the commonly used synthesis routes in order to achieve the desired ZnO nanorod morphology, and to investigate the variation in gas detection properties under the effect of UV light. In the initial parts, basic information relating to the gas sensing technologies and Zinc Oxide itself is provided, followed by a study of the potential applications of Zinc Oxide. Later on, the experimental procedure is described, after which the final characterization and results are discussed. The thesis then concludes that the CBD method, used as a benchmark, provided a better uniformity of growth but the hydrothermal synthesis reaction proceeded at the condition set comprising a growth time of 3.5 hours at 120° C produced a much better morphology. In the end the optimized morphology was put to test for UV and Gas sensing. The corresponding I-V characteristic graphs prove that UV light enhances the gas detection properties of ZnO nanorods.