A Versatile Synthesis Approach and Interface Characterization of t-ZnO@metal hydroxide/oxide Heterostructures for UV Sensing

Functional ceramics play a key role in technology, particularly in piezoelectric sensors and actuators, ferroelectric power generation, and durable semiconductors used in sensors and memristors. In this study, we report a versatile wet chemical synthesis approach, converting the surface of functional tetrapodal zinc oxide (t-ZnO) into common metal hydroxides. We performed structural, morphological and interface characterization, and explored subsequent application of various t ZnO@metal hydroxide/oxide core-shell structures as ultraviolet (UV) sensors. The t-ZnO core was uniformly coated with different metal hydroxides initially, forming distinct platelets in a core-shell architecture. Interface studies were conducted to investigate the chemical, structural, and morphological properties of these hybrid microstructures using 2D scanning nano X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), bulk XRD, X ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. Our findings highlight the potential of exceptional t ZnO structures to prove as versatile templates, offering their morphology for the synthesis of derived oxides and hydroxides of many other elements while leveraging their structural advantages.