Study of defect creation in self assembled ZnO nanostructures with electrically charged nanoparticles

ZnO nanostructures (mainly nanorods) are created by self assembly of uncharged and electrically charged nanoparticles using continuous spray pyrolysis (CoSP) technique. The properties of both nanoparticles and nanostructures are studied in order to understand the role of self assembly. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra show dependence on the growth conditions and annealing atmosphere. The nanostructured films created under voltage have a PL band in green (2.2–2.8 eV) which is absent for nanoparticles created under identical conditions. Thus, even though the nanoparticles involved have different defect states, the self assembly of unpolarized and electrically polarized nanoparticles affects defect creation in ZnO nanostructures.