[6–11], ZnO may achieve new properties and become a technological key material, its nanostructures representing an interesting choice for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic micro/nanodevices. Furthermore, morphology influences other properties such as wettability, another significant selleck compound characteristic of ZnO-covered surfaces bringing great advantages in a wide variety of applications [12–15]. Recently, special attention has been paid to superhydrophobic ZnO surfaces with high water adhesion [16–18]. The polymorphic properties of ZnO low-dimensional structures triggered different functionalities
and therefore enabled different applications. This led to an increased interest in developing new ZnO synthesis methods by various physical (pulsed laser deposition, molecular beam epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition, magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation) and chemical (chemical bath deposition, electrochemical deposition, hydrothermal, solvothermal, sol-gel, precipitation) techniques
[19–24]. Compared to the physical route where harsh conditions such as high temperature or special equipments are usually required and consequently generating high costs, the solution-based chemical approach presents several advantages including the following: easily accessible raw materials, the use of inexpensive equipment, scalability, and control of the morphologies and properties of the final products by changing different experimental parameters. When using low-cost and highly efficient methods, like chemical bath deposition Foretinib ic50 for obtaining desired morphologies, the preparation technique is more and more attractive for mass production. When designing Amobarbital electronic or optoelectronic micro/nanodevices based on ZnO, a patterning technique such as electron-beam lithography or photolithography is combined with a ZnO preparation method, e.g., hydrothermal growth or
chemical bath deposition in order to achieve functionality [25–29]. Photolithography is a conventional patterning approach representing a highly efficient and cost-effective technique of producing metallic electrodes, yielding large patterned surfaces in a short time. On the other hand, the chemical bath deposition is a versatile deposition method with the following main advantages: relatively low process temperature (below 100°C), ambient pressure processing, and the use of inexpensive equipments. In the present paper, this simple and inexpensive solution process was used to grow ZnO rods quasi-monodispersed in size on Au-patterned SiO2/Si substrate obtained by photolithography. The influence of the reaction parameters, such as reactants’ concentration and reaction time, on the morphological, Veliparib structural, and optical properties of the ZnO rods was studied using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. In addition, the electrical and the wetting properties of ZnO network rods were investigated.