Morphological, Material, and Optical Properties of ZnO/ZnS/CNTs Nanocomposites on SiO2 Substrate

Abstract

Ultraviolet A light (UV-A, 320–400 nm), which is unblockable by sunscreen, requires careful detection for disease avoidance. In this study, we propose a novel photosensing device capable of detecting UV-A. Cancer-causing UV light can be simultaneously monitored with tiny rapid response sensors for a high carrier transition speed. In our research, a multifunctional ZnO/ZnS nanomaterial hybrid-sprinkled carbon nanotube (CNT) was created for the purpose of fabricating a multipurpose, semiconductorbased application. For our research, ZnO nanorods (NRs) were grown by using a facile hydrothermal method on SiO2 substrate, then vulcanized to form ZnO/ZnS coreshell nanorods, which were sprinkled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Results indicate that SiO2/ZnO/ZnS/CNT structures exhibited a stronger conducting current with and without light than those samples without CNTs. Multiple material characterizations of the nanostructures, including of atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface morphology evaluation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that CNTs could be successfully spread on top of the ZnO/ZnS coreshell structures. Furthermore, chemical binding properties, material crystallinity, and optical properties were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and photoluminescence (PL). Owing to their compact size, simple fabrication, and low cost, ZnO/ZnS coreshell NRs/CNT/SiO2-based nanocomposites are promising for future industrial optoelectronic applications.