Fabrication of highly ordered ZnO nanowire arrays in anodic alumina membranes

Li, Y.; Cheng, G. S.; Zhang, L. D.

doi:10.1557/jmr.2000.0331

Cited by 154 publications

(75 citation statements)

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“…Both the spacing and diameter of the pores, and hence of the nanostructures, can be controlled via the anodization conditions. Pores can be produced with diameters ranging from 10 to 200 nm, lengths over 100 μm, and pore spacings ranging from 10 nm to over 400 nm [46,47]. The diameter of the pores can be further adjusted following anodization via a pore-widening step, where a 5 wt % phosphoric acid solution is generally used [48,49].…”

Section: Template-assisted Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most initial work on producing nanostructured semiconductors (e.g. ZnO, TiO 2 , Cu 2 O) using AAO templates utilized thin, unsupported templates poorly suited for device fabrication [47,90,[92][93][94][95]. A metal film was typically deposited on one side of the template to act as the conducting electrode at the base of the nano-sized pores.…”

Section: Template-assisted Synthesis Of Ultra-low-cost Photovoltaic Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanostructured Inorganic Solar Cells

Musselman¹,

Schmidt‐Mende²

2011

Green

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Abstract. Recent progress in the development of nanostructured inorganic solar cells is reviewed. Nanostructuring of inorganic solar cells offers the possibility of reducing the cost of photovoltaics by allowing smaller amounts of lowergrade photovoltaic semiconductors to be used. Various fabrication methods used to nanostructure traditional photovoltaic semiconductors are detailed and the performance of resulting devices is discussed. The synthesis of solar cells by solution-based methods using less traditional, abundant materials is identified as a promising route to widescale photovoltaic electricity generation, and nanostructured solar cell geometries are highlighted as essential in this approach. Templating and self-assembling methods used to produce appropriate low-cost nanostructures from solutions are detailed, and the performance of preliminary ultra-lowcost cells made with these structures is reviewed.Keywords. Photovoltaic, nanostructured, inorganic. PACS® (2010). 81.07.-b, 88.40.hj, 88.40.hm. Why Nanostructure? An Introduction to the TopicIt has been predicted that the world's annual energy consumption will grow from its 2009 level of around 15 terawatt-years (TWyr) to as much as 30 TWyr by 2050 [1,2]. With more than 100,000 TW of solar power striking the earth at anytime, photovoltaic technology has long been regarded as an integral part of the solution to the world's energy problems [2,3]. Yet, the high cost of traditional photovoltaic technologies has prevented them from displacing a meaningful fraction of the electricity we derive from fossil fuel sources. Fortunately, the prospects for inexpensive photovoltaic electricity generation are improving. In recent years much research has focused on reducing the price, or cost per watt, of photovoltaic cells. In particular, the emergence of fabrication and characterization techniques on the nanometer scale (nanotechnology) has enabled new strategies to harness the sun's power in a cost-effective way. In this review, the manner in which nanotechnology is being used to improve the cost-performance balance of photovoltaic cells composed of inorganic semiconductors will be discussed. The basics of solar cell operation will be briefly explained and traditional solar cells composed of expensive, highly-crystalline inorganic semiconductors will be summarized. Next, we will explain how controlling the morphology of the semiconductors on the scale of hundreds of nanometres or less can improve the collection of electricity-generating charges from the cells, reducing their stringent materials requirements and permitting cheaper fabrication. Various techniques for fabricating nanostructures of traditional photovoltaic semiconductors will be detailed and the performance of state of the art nanostructured inorganic solar cells will be reported. A discussion will follow, in which the availability of traditional photovoltaic semiconductors and the methods for producing relevant nanostructures will be evaluated in the context of whether truly inexpensive solar cells can...

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Section: Template-assisted Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Template-assisted Synthesis Of Ultra-low-cost Photovoltaic Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanostructured Inorganic Solar Cells

Musselman¹,

Schmidt‐Mende²

2011

Green

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“…As expected, this agrees with a previously reported value of 0.45 nm per minute for AAO on silicon, [17] . [7,30] Hence, through control of anodization conditions and pore-widening times, a large range of pore diameters and densities can be obtained for these nanopores and nanorod structures. The Al thin films produced here on supporting substrates are compatible with previously reported patterning techniques, [17,22,31] such that perfectly ordered arrays of pores, and hence nanorods, with extremely narrow diameter distributions are possible.…”

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confidence: 99%

Low‐Temperature Synthesis of Large‐Area, Free‐Standing Nanorod Arrays on ITO/Glass and other Conducting Substrates

et al. 2008

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Arrays of free-standing nanorods or nanowires are of great interest for applications in data storage, catalysis, sensing, field emission, and optoelectronic devices. [1][2][3][4] Hybrid solar cells, for example, attempt to combine nanostructured semiconducting metal oxides with organic semiconductors to produce efficient photovoltaics at low cost. An ideal architecture proposed for these cells consists of an array of semiconducting nanorods surrounded by a charge-transporting polymer, where the interfacial distance is smaller than the exciton diffusion length in the polymer (approximately 10 nm), resulting in efficient exciton separation at the interface. [4][5][6] The development of such devices has so far been hindered by the inability to reliably produce nanostructures on appropriate substrates, including transparent conducting oxides and crystalline semiconductors. A general method is presented here for producing large-area arrays of free-standing nanorods on supporting substrates. The inclusion of titanium and tungsten adhesive layers has permitted the fabrication of anodic alumina thin film templates of unprecedented quality on indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass, silicon, and flexible substrates over 2 cm 2 areas, of interest for devices. For the first time, free-standing nanorods of a variety of oxides and metals have been reproducibly synthesized over large areas on ITO/glass substrates by electrochemical deposition into the vertically-aligned nanopores of the templates, followed by template removal. A number of techniques have been used to fabricate nanorod arrays, including template synthesis, various forms of vapor deposition, chemical solution growth, electrochemical deposition, and sub-micrometer lithography. [2,7] Vapor deposition and lithographic methods are restricted by slow, expensive, high-vacuum processes, and chemical solution [5] and electrochemical [8,9] growth of free-standing arrays have largely been limited to certain materials, notably zinc oxide. A variety of oxide semiconductors have been proposed for use in nanostructured solar cells and many different metallic, semiconducting, and magnetic materials are of interest for data storage, sensing, catalysis and field emission devices, such that a more universal method is desirable. The most versatile method for producing nanorods in the form of large-area arrays has been the replication of patterns in templates, using filling methods such as pressure injection, electrochemical deposition, and capillary filling with sol-gels. [7] Electrodeposition, in particular, is advantageous for electronic applications as it ensures that there is electrical contact between the deposited nanorods and underlying electrode. It is a low-temperature, inexpensive, scalable technique, which allows growth of a wide variety of metals and semiconductors. [2,[10][11][12] Both anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) and block copolymer [13] templates can be produced with self-assembling, vertically-aligned pores over a large area for nanorod synthesis. Anodic alumina templates in p...

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“…Numerous researchers have studied the synthesis and fabrication of nanorods and nanowires. Many different synthesis techniques have been developed, such as oxidation of metallic nanorods or nanowires, [5] vapor±liquid±solid (VLS) growth of oxide nanorods and nanowires, [6] and filling templates with sols or colloidal dispersions, [7,8] allowing the synthesis of many oxide nanorods. Of these techniques, the sol-filling method offers several advantages over both the VLS technique and oxidation of metallic nanorods or nanowires, and particularly facilitates the fabrication of complex oxide nanorods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sol–Gel Electrophoretic Deposition for the Growth of Oxide Nanorods

Limmer

Cao²

2003

Advanced Materials

171

100

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By combining sol–gel processing with electrophoretic deposition, we have developed a new method for the growth of oxide nanorods. Both single metal oxides (TiO2, SiO2) and complex oxides—BaTiO3, Sr2Nb2O7, and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3—have been grown by this method. Uniformly sized nanorods 45–200 nm in diameter and 10 μm in length can be grown over large areas with near unidirectional alignment. The nanorods have the desired stoichiometric chemical composition and crystal structure, after firing to 500–700 °C for up to one hour.

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Fabrication of highly ordered ZnO nanowire arrays in anodic alumina membranes

Cited by 154 publications

References 23 publications

Nanostructured Inorganic Solar Cells

Nanostructured Inorganic Solar Cells

Low‐Temperature Synthesis of Large‐Area, Free‐Standing Nanorod Arrays on ITO/Glass and other Conducting Substrates

Sol–Gel Electrophoretic Deposition for the Growth of Oxide Nanorods

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