One-dimensional nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanoneedles, nanobelts and nanotubes, have been extensively
studied in recent years. These fascinating structures have the excellent physical properties owing to their geometry with
high aspect ratio and modify the light-matter interaction. However, the defects of these structures are the obstacles for
the practical applications. We report the influence of the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment on the point defects and
structural defects of ZnO nanorods grown on n-type silicon. The ZnO nanorod arrays are prepared by low-cost
hydrothermal method and the H2O2 treatments are investigated in two different approaches. One is to immerse ZnO
nanorod samples into H2O2 solution. The other is a pre-treatment of spin-coating H2O2 solution on the seed layer before
the growth of the ZnO nanorods. In the first approach, we found that the ultraviolet (UV) emission peak of the ZnO
nanorods photoluminescence (PL) spectra was strongly dependent on the immersion time. In the second approach, the
H2O2 solution not only influences the quality of the seed layer, but also the amount of the oxygen interstitial defects in
the ZnO nanorods grown thereon. As a result, the UV emission intensity from the ZnO nanorods is enhanced almost five
times. These effects are attributed to oxygen desorption through oxidation-reduction reactions of hydrogen peroxide on
the ZnO surface. The ZnO nanorod arrays with few oxygen interstitial defects are prepared by low-cost and low-temperature
hydrogen peroxide treatments, which are compatible with glass and polymer substrates and expected to enable
the fabrication of optoelectronic device with excellent performance.
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