ZnO nanosheets have been used for many devices and antibacterial materials with wide bandgap and high crystallinity. Among the many methods for synthesizing ZnO nanostructures, we report the synthesis of ZnO/Zn(OH)2 nanosheets using the ionic layer epitaxy method, which is a newly-developed bottom-up technique that allows the shape and thickness of ZnO/Zn(OH)2 nanosheets to be controlled by temperature and time of synthesis. Results were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The physical and chemical information and structural characteristics of ZnO/ Zn(OH)2 nanosheets were compared by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction patterns after various posttreatment processes. The crystallinity of the ZnO/Zn(OH)2 nanosheets was confirmed using scanning transmission electron microscopy. This study presents details of the control of the size and thickness of synthesized ZnO/Zn(OH)2 nanosheets with atomic layers.

We fabricated 3 types of ETL, mp TiO2, ZnO, and ZnO coated on mp TiO2(ZMT) to compare the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) and fill factor (FF) of Perovskite solar cells. The structure of the cells was FTO/ETL/Perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3)/spiro-MeOTAD/Ag. SEM morphology assessment of the ETLs showed that mp TiO2 was porous, ZnO was flat, and the ZMT porous surface was filled with a thin layer. Via XRD measurements, the crystal structures of mp TiO2 and ZnO ETL were found to be anatase and wurtzite, respectively. The XPS patterns showing energy bonding of mp TiO2, ZnO, and ZMT O 1s confirmed these materials to be metal oxides such as ETL. The electrical characteristics of the Perovskite solar cells were measured using a solar simulator. Perovskite solar cells with ZMT ETL showed showed PCE of 10.29 % than that of conventional mp TiO2 ETL devices. This was considered a result of preventing Perovskite from seeping into the ETL and preventing recombination of electrons and holes.

The SnSe single crystal shows an outstanding figure of merit (ZT) of 2.6 at 973 K; thus, it is considered to be a promising thermoelectric material. However, the mass production of SnSe single crystals is difficult, and their mechanical properties are poor. Alternatively, we can use polycrystalline SnSe powder, which has better mechanical properties. In this study, surface modification by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is chosen to increase the ZT value of SnSe polycrystalline powder. SnSe powder is ground by a ball mill. An ALD coating process using a rotary-type reactor is adopted. ZnO thin films are grown by 100 ALD cycles using diethylzinc and H2O as precursors at 100oC. ALD is performed at rotation speeds of 30, 40, 50, and 60 rpm to examine the effects of rotation speed on the thin film characteristics. The physical and chemical properties of ALD-coated SnSe powders are characterized by scanning and tunneling electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The results reveal that a smooth oxygenrich ZnO layer is grown on SnSe at a rotation speed of 30 rpm. This result can be applied for the uniform coating of a ZnO layer on various powder materials.

As ZIF materials have their unique properties such as high surface area, tunable pore structure, thermal and chemical stability, they can be used in various applications including gas separation and catalysis. For synthesis of ZIF membranes, fixing sub-micron ZIF seed particles on the support is challenging and important. In this work, ZIF-8 seed layer was synthesized by conversion synthesis of ZnO layer on support in H-mIm solution, followed by the secondary growth synthesis of ZIF-8 membranes. The parameters of conversion seeding had been investigated to control the reaction rate combining the dissolution rate of ZnO and the crystallization rate of ZIF-8. This ZIF-8 membranes showed the better coverage of seeding layer and improved gas separation properties compared with the membranes prepared by traditional dip-coating seeding method.

We investigated the effect of ZnO buffer layer on the formation of ZnO thin film by ultrasonic assisted spray pyrolysis deposition. ZnO buffer layer was formed by wet solution method, which was repeated several times. Structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films deposited on the ZnO buffer layers with various cycles and at various temperatures were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence spectrum analysis. The structural investigations showed that three-dimensional island shaped ZnO was formed on the bare Si substrate without buffer layers, while two-dimensional ZnO thin film was deposited on the ZnO buffer layers. In addition, structural and optical investigations showed that the crystalline quality of ZnO thin film was improved by introducing the buffer layers. This improvement was attributed to the modulation of the surface energy of the Si surface by the ZnO buffer layer, which finally resulted in a modification of the growth mode from three to two-dimensional.

As ZIF materials have their unique properties such as high surface area, tunable pore structure, thermal and chemical stability, they can be used in various applications including gas separation and catalysis. For synthesis of ZIF membranes, fixing sub-micron ZIF seed particles on the support is challenging and important. In this work, ZIF-8 seed layer was synthesized by conversion synthesis of ZnO layer on support in H-mIm solution, followed by the secondary growth synthesis of ZIF-8 membranes. The parameters of conversion seeding had been investigated to control the reaction rate combining the dissolution rate of ZnO and the crystallization rate of ZIF-8. This ZIF-8 membranes showed the better coverage of seeding layer and gas separation properties compared with the membranes prepared by traditional dip-coating seeding.

MOF(Metal-organic frameworks)의 일종인 ZIF-8은 큰비표면적과 높은 열적⋅ 화학적 안정성을 가지고 있어 분리막 재료로 많은 연구가 진행되고 있다. 특히, 3.4Å 크기의 기공입구와 11.6 Å 크기의 기공 크기를 가지고 있는 ZIF-8을 분리 막으로 합성시 프로필렌/프로판을 분자체 효과를 통해 분리해 낼 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 ZnO 층을 형성하고 이를 전환시켜 결함 없는 ZIF-8 막을 합성하고 이를 통해 프로필렌/프로판을 분리하고자 했다. 우선, 매크로기공을 가진 디스크 모양의 α-알루미나 지지체 위에 ZnO 층을 형성하고, 2-methylimidazole 용액에서 용매열 합성하여 ZnO를 ZIF-8 분리막으로 전환시켰다. 합성된 ZIF-8 분리막 은 XRD, SEM, 기체투과장치, GC 등을 이용하여 분석하였다.

Al-doped ZnO(AZO) thin films were synthesized using atomid layer deposition(ALD), which acurately controlledthe uniform film thickness of the AZO thin films. To investigate the electrical and optical properites of the AZO thin films,AZO films using ALD was controlled to be three different thicknesses (50nm, 100nm, and 150nm). The structural, chemical,electrical, and optical properties of the AZO thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,field-emssion scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Hall measurement system, and UV-Visspectrophotometry. As the thickness of the AZO thin films increased, the crystallinity of the AZO thin films gradually increased,and the surface morphology of the AZO thin films were transformed from a porous structure to a dense structure. The averagesurface roughnesses of the samples using atomic force microscopy were ~3.01nm, ~2.89nm, and ~2.44nm, respectively. Asthe thickness of the AZO filmsincreased, the surface roughness decreased gradually. These results affect the electrical and opticalproperties of AZO thin films. Therefore, the thickest AZO thin films with 150nm exhibited excellent resistivity (~7.00×10−4Ω·cm), high transmittance (~83.2%), and the best FOM (5.71×10−3Ω−1). AZO thin films fabricated using ALD may be usedas a promising cadidate of TCO materials for optoelectronic applications.

In this study, the effects of an annealed buffer layer with different thickness on heterojunction diodes based on the ZnO/ZnO/p-Si(111) systems were reported. The effects of an annealed buffer layer with different thickness on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) films on p-Si(111) were also studied. Before zinc oxide (ZnO) deposition, different thicknesses of ZnO buffer layer, 10 nm, 30 nm, 50 nm and 70 nm, were grown on p-Si(111) substrates using a radio-frequency sputtering system; samples were subsequently annealed at 700˚C for 10 minutes in N2 in a horizontal thermal furnace. Zinc oxide (ZnO) films with a width of 280nm were also deposited using a radio-frequency sputtering system on the annealed ZnO/p-Si (111) substrates at room temperature; samples were subsequently annealed at 700˚C for 30 minutes in N2. In this experiment, the structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films were studied by XRD (X-ray diffraction), and room temperature PL (photoluminescence) measurements, respectively. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were measured with a semiconductor parameter analyzer. The thermal tensile stress was found to decrease with increasing buffer layer thickness. Among the ZnO/ZnO/p-Si(111) diodes fabricated in this study, the sample that was formed with the condition of a 50 nm thick ZnO buffer layer showed a strong c-axis preferred orientation and I-V characteristics suitable for a heterojunction diode.

This study develops a highly transparent ohmic contact scheme using indium oxide doped ZnO (IZO)as a current spreading layer for p-GaN in order to increase the optical output power of nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). IZO based contact layers of IZO, Ni/IZO, and NiO/IZO were prepared by e-beamevaporation, followed by a post-deposition annealing. The transmittances of the IZO based contact layers werein excess of 80% throughout the visible region of the spectrum. Specific contact resistances of 3.4×10−4,1.2×10−4, 9.2×0−5, and 3.6×10−5Ω·cm2 for IZO, Ni/Au, Ni/IZO, and NiO/IZO, respectively were obtained. Theforward voltage and the optical output power of GaN LED with a NiO/IZO ohmic contact was 0.15V lower andwas increased by 38.9%, respectively, at a forward current of 20mA compared to that of a standard GaN LEDwith an Ni/Au ohmic contact due to its high transparency, low contact resistance, and uniform current spreading.