Selective growth of ZnO nanowires by employing voltage-assisted hydrothermal growth technique

In this work, a novel voltage-assisted double-step chemical bath deposition technique is developed for the controllable selective growth of ZnO nanowires on conducting surface. The impact of voltage-induced electric field on the growth of ZnO NW is investigated from the fundamental understanding of hydrothermal growth kinetics. It is identified that the selective growth of ZnO nanostructures depend upon the electrical field-induced attraction force on Zn
²⁺
and OH
^-
complexes, present in the precursor solution. The morphology and vertical alignment of such voltage-assisted grown nanowires at desirable positions of the substrate are examined by FESEM images. Chemical stoichiometry of the grown nanowires at different positions of the substrate is investigated by performing EDAX. The EDAX plots and the relevant atomic Zn:O ratio indicate the impact of electric field on the hydrothermal technique resulting to the voltage-dependent selective growth of ZnO nanowires.