Effect of surfactant on the physical properties of ZnO nanorods and the performance of ZnO photoelectrochemical cell

The performance of photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) strongly depends on the physical properties of photovoltaic material. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) surfactants were used to modify the morphology nanostructure of ZnO films by a simple technique, namely, ammonia-assisted controlled hydrolysis technique during their growth process. The film treated with PVP, CTAB and HMT produce the nanostructure shape of nanoflower, nanowire and nanorod (NR), respectively. These ZnO samples were utilised as photovoltaic materials in a PEC of FTO (fluorine tin oxide)/ZnO/electrolyte/platinum. It was found that the photovoltaic parameters such as short-circuit current density (J_sc), open-circuit voltage (V_oc) and fill factor (FF) are influenced by the morphology in term of shape and particle size and optical property of the ZnO NR. The PEC utilising the ZnO sample treated with HMT surfactant demonstrated the highest J_sc of 0.47 mAcm^?2, V_oc of 0.46 V, FF of 29.2% and η of 0.06%, respectively, since it possesses the lowest energy gap.