Growth of ZnO nanowires on carbon fibers by RF magnetron sputtering technique

Zinc oxide nanowires have been grown uniformly on carbon fiber substrate at room temperature using RF magnetron sputtering technique which involved two step process; application of seed layer using solution route and subsequent RF sputter deposition of zinc oxide. The nanowires thus produced were examined by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) for their microstructure and morphology while their nanostructure was studied by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). X-ray and electron diffraction techniques were used for structural analysis. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and high resolution lattice image showed highly crystalline structure of nanowires. Photoluminescence (PL) analysis was carried out for the determination of their optical characteristics which showed a strong UV peak at 393 nm. Relatively less intense violet and green emission peaks centered at 401 nm and 550 nm were also observed in the visible band.