Abstract
Growth of nanocrystalline thin ZnO nanosheets interconnects were achieved on zinc foil via facile hydrothermal process by using zinc chloride, hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and ammonium hydroxide at low-temperature. The as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized in detail in terms of their morphological, structural and optical properties. The detailed morphological investigations revealed that the synthesized nanostructures are nanosheets which are grown in high density on the most of the substrate surface. The nanosheets are randomly distributed in partially aligned manner and interconnected with adjacent nanosheets in such a way that they form the network like structures hence, the grown nanostructures are called as 'nanosheet interconnects.' Detailed structural and scattering studies, by several techniques, revealed that the synthesized products are well-crystalline and possess wurtzite hexagonal phase. The optical properties of as-synthesized ZnO nanosheet interconnects were examined by room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) which showed a strong UV emission and a suppressed green emission confirming that the synthesized products are possessing good optical properties. To check the effect of annealing on the morphologies of as-synthesized nanosheet interconnects, the synthesized products were annealed at 200 degrees C and discussed in the manuscript. Finally, a plausible mechanism has been discussed in the manuscript.