Abstract
ZnO nanorods decorated by NiO nanostructures were fabricated using facile chemical route. The nanorods of ZnO were prepared by using chemical bath deposition technique and subsequently decorated by NiO using sol-gel spin coating. The density and orientation of the ZnO nanorods was controlled through the seed layer with preferential growth along c-axis and hexagonal face. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis was used to confirm stoichiometry of the materials and band alignment study of the heterostructures. Type-II band alignment was observed from the experimental results. The IV characteristics of the device depicting rectifying behavior at different temperatures were observed with photocurrent generation in response to light excitation. The electrical properties reported in this study are in line with earlier work where heterojunctions were fabricated by physical deposition techniques.
•We report on facile growth of NiO/ZnO hybrid nanostructures.•Experimentally determined energy band alignments are reported in these heterostructures.•IV characteristics were analyzed at different temperatures and with light excitation.•It is shown that the electrical properties of the chemically grown device can be compared with the physical deposited values.