Solar Explosive Evaporation Growth of ZnO Nanostructures

For the first time, we present a novel method of explosive evaporation (MEE) for the deposition of ZnO nanostructures using concentrated solar radiation for precursor evaporation. Zinc acetylacetonate powder and a mixture of ZnO with graphite powders are used as precursors for the deposition of ZnO nanostructures. ZnO nanostructures are deposited on Au/Si, Ag/Si, and unpolished Si substrates by MEE. The scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, photoluminescence, and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy are used for sample characterization. We demonstrate that the changing of precursors and the substrate types allows ZnO nanostructures to be grown with diverse morphologies: hexagons, spheres, and needles. The properties of ZnO nanostructures deposited on unpolished, coated by Ag and Au silicon substrates are discussed. MME using concentrated solar radiation is promising method for applications in the semiconductor industry as an economically efficient environmentally-friendly method for the growth of nanostructures.