The effect of growth duration using hydrothermal synthesis on ZnO nanorods/TiO2-FTO microstructure.

One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures are known to contribute a straight pathway for electron transfer to achieve good device performance. Besides that, Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a metal oxide semiconductor, investigated as a material with upstanding physical and chemical properties with excellent light sensitivity, good relialibility in the environment, and low synthesis costs. In this research, the composite of ZnO nanorod/TiO2 designed to become a semiconductor coating material for photoanodes to support the process of electron transport. In this research, hexagonal structures of ZnO nanorods were synthesized by various growth time of hydrothermal synthesis method. The growth time affects to ZnO nanorods was systematically investigated on ZnO nanorods/TiO2 composites by scanning electron microscopy. From the XRD analysis showed that the ZnO nanorods in a crystalline phase in ZnO nanorods/TiO2 composites. Its crystallinity increases with increasing hydrothermal duration. In addition, the hydrothermal duration of 5 hours resulted the largest diameter and thickness of ZnO nanorod. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]