Effect of surfactant on the physical properties of ZnO nanorods and the performance of ZnO photoelectrochemical cell

Figures & data

Figure 1. XRD patterns of ZnO NR treated with (a) CTAB, (b) PVP and (c) HMT.

Figure 2. FESEM images quasi-1D ZnO NRs treated surfactant (a1) CTAB (b1) PVP (c1) HMT in low magnification, and (a2)–(c2) are (a1)–(c1) in high magnification. Insert is the cross section of (a1)–(c1), respectively. The scale bar is 100 nm.

Figure 3. UV-visible spectra of ZnO nanostructure treated with various surfactants.

Table 1. Crystallite size and energy gap for the ZnO samples prepared with various surfactants.

ZnO sample	Thickness (nm)	Crystallite size (nm)	Energy gap (eV)
HMT	140	25.12	3.28
CTAB	140	25.05	3.30
PVP	150	24.98	3.30

Figure 4. Direct energy gap as a function of photon energy for the surfactant treated ZnO samples.

Figure 5. J–V curves of the cell utilising ZnO samples treated with various surfactants.

Figure 6. (a) Short-circuit current density and open-circuit voltage as a function of surfactant and (b) power conversion efficiency and fill factor as a function of various surfactant.