NH ₄ F-assisted one-pot solution synthesis of hexagonal ZnO microdiscs for efficient ultraviolet photodetection

Abstract

One-pot solution method to grow large hexagonal ZnO microdiscs with the aid of ammonium fluoride (NH4F) mineralizer has been realized. The size, morphology, crystallinity and optical properties of the synthesized ZnO microdiscs can be efficiently modulated by the concentration of NH4F. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses illustrate that hexagonal ZnO microdiscs achieved at 0.03 M NH4F concentration have larger disc size and narrower full-width value at half maximum of (002) peak. It implies better crystal quality compared with those from other additive concentrations. Photoluminescence results also demonstrate the same trend. These results indicate that with proper addition of NH4F, the crystal quality of ZnO microdiscs has been improved and defects have been suppressed. Furthermore, a UV photodetector has been fabricated by simply transferring the ZnO microdiscs grown with 0.03 M NH4F onto a p-type silicon substrate. The device exhibits photosensitive behaviour at 365 nm UV light illuminating when −0.6 V is applied. The response time as well as recovery time is less than 0.1 s. The relatively large photoresponsivity of 1.19 A W−1 with power consumption less than 10 nW makes it possible in application field of highly efficient low power consumption UV detection.

Preparation and characterization of acid‐treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes interlinked nickel vanadate microcomposites for lithium‐ion batteries

“…Generally, NH 4 F acts as a structure mediating agent as well as a crystal forming agent in materializing well‐crystalline nanostructures 23 . As an acidic mineralizer, NH 4 F has been reported to increase the crystallinity and crystal size of various materials grown by the solution method 24 . Here, it is evident that NH 4 F significantly impacts the growth of NVO MSs.…”

“…23 As an acidic mineralizer, NH 4 F has been reported to increase the crystallinity and crystal size of various materials grown by the solution method. 24 Here, it is evident that NH 4 F significantly impacts the growth of NVO MSs. Highly regular-shaped NVO MSs with the addition of NH 4 F are shown in Figure 1.…”

Controlled dispersion of ZnO nanoparticles produced by basic precipitation in solvothermal processes

“…The ZnO structures were fully characterized by spectroscopic techniques (X-Ray diffraction, FT-IR, reflectance and UV-Visible absorption) and by TEM microscopy, confirming the size and distribution in each case, highlighting the small ZnO NPs from the second and third synthesis in promising applications as semiconductors [4,46,47]. As well as the nanostructures produced from ultrasonic cavitation endowing the nanomaterials with a high degree of porosity [48], enhancing their reactivity for catalysis [49], energy conversion [50,51], among other types of applications [52].…”

Evolution of Highly Biocompatible and Thermally Stable YVO4:Er3+/Yb3+ Upconversion Mesoporous Hollow Nanospheriods as Drug Carriers for Therapeutic Applications

“…In addition, during the synthesis of YVO 4 :Er 3+ /Yb 3+ UC-MHNSPs, (4 mmol) NH 4 F was used as a flux to enrich the emission properties. It is well established that a small amount of suitable flux enhances the crystallization of the material which eventually leads to the enhancement of its luminescence properties [ 26 , 40 ].…”