Self-assembled growth of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods for light sensing applications

A facile low temperature anodization approach is presented for the first time to synthesize aligned ZnO nanorods (NRs). The NRs have diameters in the range of 150-250 nm and lengths of 50-100 mu m with hexagonal structures. Electropolishing and pre-annealing of the Zn foil before the anodization step were essential to produce ordered NRs. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron diffraction, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses confirmed the formation of ZnO. The photodetector made using the prepared ZnO NRs showed an excellent responsivity of similar to 1 A/W. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.