Economic Friendly ZnO-Based UV Sensors Using Hydrothermal Growth: A Review

Ultraviolet (UV) sensors offer significant advantages in human health protection and environmental pollution monitoring. Amongst various materials for UV sensors, the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructure is considered as one of the most promising candidates due to its incredible electrical, optical, biome...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liguo Qin, Fagla Jules Mawignon, Mehboob Hussain, Nsilani Kouediatouka Ange, Shan Lu, Mahshid Hafezi, Guangneng Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/15/4083
Description
Summary:Ultraviolet (UV) sensors offer significant advantages in human health protection and environmental pollution monitoring. Amongst various materials for UV sensors, the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructure is considered as one of the most promising candidates due to its incredible electrical, optical, biomedical, energetic and preparing properties. Compared to other fabricating techniques, hydrothermal synthesis has been proven to show special advantages such as economic cost, low-temperature process and excellent and high-yield production. Here, we summarize the latest progress in research about the hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanostructures for UV sensing. We particularly focus on the selective hydrothermal processes and reveal the effect of key factors/parameters on ZnO architectures, such as the laser power source, temperature, growth time, precursor, seeding solution and bases. Furthermore, ZnO hydrothermal nanostructures for UV applications as well as their mechanisms are also summarized. This review will therefore enlighten future ideas of low-temperature and low-cost ZnO-based UV sensors.
ISSN:1996-1944