Well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays were successfully synthesized on a glass substrate using the rapid microwave heating process. The ZnO seed layers were produced by spinning the precursor solutions onto the substrate. Among coatings, the ZnO seed layers were annealed at 100℃ for 5 minutes to ensure particle adhesion to the glass surface in air, nitrogen, and vacuum atmospheres. The annealing treatment of the ZnO seed layer was most important for achieving the high quality of ZnO nanowire arrays as ZnO seed nanoparticles of larger than 30 nm in diameter evolve into ZnO nanowire arrays. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed a single-crystalline lattice of the ZnO nanowires. Because of their low power (140 W), low operating temperatures (90℃), easy fabrication (variable microwave sintering system), and low cost (90% cost reduction compared with gas condensation methods), high quality ZnO nanowires created with the rapid microwave heating process show great promise for use in flexible solar cells and flexible display devices.
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