Comparison of photoluminescence of carbon nanotube/ZnO nanostructures synthesized by gas- and solution-phase transport

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ZnO heterostructures were synthesized by two different processes: (1) gas-phase transport (GPT) and nucleation of Zn powders and (2) solution-phase transport (SPT) chemical reaction of zinc nitrate solution on the MWCNTs. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the ZnO nanostructures on the MWCNTs from the GPT and SPT processes were poly- and single-crystal hexagonal wurtzite structure, respectively. The major photoluminescence (PL) spectra of our MWCNT/ZnO hybrid, excited at 380 nm and 550 nm, were presented. The PL intensity of the MWCNT/ZnO coaxial nanostructures behaves differently depending on the ZnO synthesis methods on the MWCNTs. The MWCNT/ZnO heterostructures synthesized using the GPT process were more efficient than those synthesized by SPT process in enhancing the PL intensity around the near-band-edge emission region. However, the emission enhancement around defect region was mostly attributed to increase in the O vacancy concentration in the ZnO on the MWCNTs during the SPT process.