ZnO nanostructured arrays grown from aqueous solutions on different substrates

ZnO nanostructures were grown from a solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine onto different substrates that were pretreated with an RF sputter coated ZnO seed layer. The choice of substrate was observed to have a direct effect on the morphology, orientation and surface coverage of the nanostructured arrays. Substrates that were covered in a 1.2 mum sputter coated ZnO seed layer, include; 6H-SiC, LiNbO₃, gold, LiTaO₃, ITO (indium tin oxide) glass and plate glass. The ZnO seed layer facilitates the uniform growth of nanostructured arrays of ZnO, without such a layer nanostructure growth was found to be sporadic and unaligned. Under identical reaction conditions, a range of different ZnO nanostructured arrays were observed.