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Influence of morphology on electrical and optical properties of graphene/Al-doped ZnO-nanorod composites

Chalangar, Ebrahim ; Machhadani, Houssaine ; Lim, Seung Hyuk ; Karlsson, K. Fredrik ; Nur, Omer ; Willander, Magnus and Pettersson, Hakan LU (2018) In Nanotechnology 29(41).
Abstract

The development of future 3D-printed electronics relies on the access to highly conductive inexpensive materials that are printable at low temperatures (<100 C). The implementation of available materials for these applications are, however, still limited by issues related to cost and printing quality. Here, we report on the simple hydrothermal growth of novel nanocomposites that are well suited for conductive printing applications. The nanocomposites comprise highly Al-doped ZnO nanorods grown on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The ZnO nanorods play the two major roles of (i) preventing GNPs from agglomerating and (ii) promoting electrical conduction paths between the graphene platelets. The effect of two different ZnO-nanorod... (More)

The development of future 3D-printed electronics relies on the access to highly conductive inexpensive materials that are printable at low temperatures (<100 C). The implementation of available materials for these applications are, however, still limited by issues related to cost and printing quality. Here, we report on the simple hydrothermal growth of novel nanocomposites that are well suited for conductive printing applications. The nanocomposites comprise highly Al-doped ZnO nanorods grown on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The ZnO nanorods play the two major roles of (i) preventing GNPs from agglomerating and (ii) promoting electrical conduction paths between the graphene platelets. The effect of two different ZnO-nanorod morphologies with varying Al-doping concentration on the nanocomposite conductivity and the graphene dispersity are investigated. Time-dependent absorption, photoluminescence and photoconductivity measurements show that growth in high pH solutions promotes a better graphene dispersity, higher doping levels and enhanced bonding between the graphene and the ZnO nanorods. Growth in low pH solutions yields samples characterized by a higher conductivity and a reduced number of surface defects. These samples also exhibit a large persistent photoconductivity attributed to an effective charge separation and transfer from the nanorods to the graphene platelets. Our findings can be used to tailor the conductivity of novel printable composites, or for fabrication of large volumes of inexpensive porous conjugated graphene-semiconductor composites.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
grapheme, nanocomposites, nanorods, persistent photoconductivity, printing, zinc oxide
in
Nanotechnology
volume
29
issue
41
article number
415201
publisher
IOP Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:85051665865
  • pmid:30015332
ISSN
0957-4484
DOI
10.1088/1361-6528/aad3ec
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5a6a5068-c1a7-4bbc-b8fa-e251699bf3f8
date added to LUP
2018-09-11 08:00:29
date last changed
2024-03-18 13:56:38
@article{5a6a5068-c1a7-4bbc-b8fa-e251699bf3f8,
  abstract     = {{<p>The development of future 3D-printed electronics relies on the access to highly conductive inexpensive materials that are printable at low temperatures (&lt;100 C). The implementation of available materials for these applications are, however, still limited by issues related to cost and printing quality. Here, we report on the simple hydrothermal growth of novel nanocomposites that are well suited for conductive printing applications. The nanocomposites comprise highly Al-doped ZnO nanorods grown on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The ZnO nanorods play the two major roles of (i) preventing GNPs from agglomerating and (ii) promoting electrical conduction paths between the graphene platelets. The effect of two different ZnO-nanorod morphologies with varying Al-doping concentration on the nanocomposite conductivity and the graphene dispersity are investigated. Time-dependent absorption, photoluminescence and photoconductivity measurements show that growth in high pH solutions promotes a better graphene dispersity, higher doping levels and enhanced bonding between the graphene and the ZnO nanorods. Growth in low pH solutions yields samples characterized by a higher conductivity and a reduced number of surface defects. These samples also exhibit a large persistent photoconductivity attributed to an effective charge separation and transfer from the nanorods to the graphene platelets. Our findings can be used to tailor the conductivity of novel printable composites, or for fabrication of large volumes of inexpensive porous conjugated graphene-semiconductor composites.</p>}},
  author       = {{Chalangar, Ebrahim and Machhadani, Houssaine and Lim, Seung Hyuk and Karlsson, K. Fredrik and Nur, Omer and Willander, Magnus and Pettersson, Hakan}},
  issn         = {{0957-4484}},
  keywords     = {{grapheme; nanocomposites; nanorods; persistent photoconductivity; printing; zinc oxide}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{41}},
  publisher    = {{IOP Publishing}},
  series       = {{Nanotechnology}},
  title        = {{Influence of morphology on electrical and optical properties of graphene/Al-doped ZnO-nanorod composites}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/aad3ec}},
  doi          = {{10.1088/1361-6528/aad3ec}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}