Nanostructured ZnO Thin Films for Optical, Electrical, and Photoelectrochemical Applications from a New Zn Complex

New hexanuclear zinc complex, Zn6(OAc)8(μ-O)2(dmae)4 (1)
(OAc = acetato, dmae = N,N-dimethyl aminoethanolato)
has been synthesized and characterized
by its melting point, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy, atmospheric-pressure chemical-ionization mass spectrometry,
thermal gravimetric analysis, and single crystal X-ray analysis. The
complex (1) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c. The high solubility of complex (1) in organic solvents such as alcohol, THF, and toluene and
low decomposition temperature as compared to Zn­(OAc)2 make
it a promising single source candidate for the deposition of nanostructured
ZnO thin films by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Films
with various nanostructures, morphology, and crystallographic orientation
have been deposited by controlling the deposition temperature. The
deposited films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning
electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The optical
characterization of ZnO films deposited on the FTO substrate show
a direct band gap of 3.31 eV, and the photoelectrochemical study revealed
that the photocurrent onset is at about −0.32 V, whereas no
photocurrent saturation was observed. The I–V measurements designated the deposited films as ohmic semiconductors.