Experimental Analysis of Transition Metal (Ni-V) Codoped ZnO Nanorods for Piezoelectric Accelerometer Application

Growth of Nickel (Ni) and Vanadium (V) codoped Zinc Oxide (ZVN) nanorods (NRs) using the hydrothermal method, and its application in low-frequency accelerometer have been explored in this study. Poly (3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is spin-coated on ZVN NRs grown on a rigid substrate to establish p-n junction. Structural analysis exhibited dominant (002) plane revealing the c-axis orientation and improved quality of ZVN NRs. Morphological examination showed growth of NRs with the hexagonal top surface. Study about the optical properties evinced a bandgap of ~3.03 eV with decreased defects. Electrical properties evidenced a typical p-n junction rectifying behavior with less turn-on voltage and internal resistance of 0.1 V and ~158 Ω respectively depicting increased conductivity. Experimental accelerometer performance evaluation manifested a maximum output voltage of 2.9 V and 3.6 V at resonant frequency 7 Hz and 1 g acceleration respectively. The sensitivity calculated is ~6.9 V/g which is considerable in comparison with the literature reported. The fabricated ZNV accelerometer has been reported to have satisfactory linearity.