Enhanced Blue Green Emission of ZnO Nanorods Grown by Hydrothermal Method

In this paper, we report enhanced blue green emission of hexagonal shaped ZnO nanorods (NRS) grown via a simple hydrothermal method and silica coated then by using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The composition and structural characteristic of the prepared samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (FESEM-EDAX). The results revealed well crystallized hexagonal structure possessing a perfect and ideal growth habits of wurtzite zinc oxide grown along the [001] direction in preference in both the cases. Optical properties and quality of the prepared ZnO and silica coated ZnO nanorods were examined by UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopy. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were used to study ZnO and silica coated ZnO nanorod electronic structure, which resulted in an obvious enhanced blue-green emission for ZnO nanorod and an intense red emission with a very low UV intensity for the silica coated nanorods. Appearance of intense red emission seems to be very promising since and it could favor more reliable fluorescence sensing in drug delivery fluorescent detection with a minor UV emission.