Synthesis of Multi-functional ZnO Nanomaterials on Flexible Substrates for Flexible Electronics

Low-temperature processable hybrid organic/inorganic based electronic devices, such as field-effect transistors (FETs), micro/nano energy generators, photodetectors, etc. offer practical solutions towards realizing low-cost, flexible self-powered autonomous systems. This work presents the method for ‘direct’ integration of inorganic ZnO nanostructures onto flexible polymeric substrates by growing directly the nanowires (NWs) using hydrothermal growth process. In addition, the ‘indirect’ integration is demonstrated by transferring high temperature grown ZnO nanosheets (NSs) using mechanical shear force alignment technique. The potential of each integration approaches has been demonstrated by fabricating organic / inorganic hybrid electronic devices over flexible polymeric substrates.