Surface chemistry and surface electronic properties of ZnO single crystals and nanorods

The surface chemistry of ZnO single crystals of (0001) and (1010) orientations and ZnO nanorods was studied using x-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopies. Air drying and UV-ozone preparations were studied in particular as chemical treatments that could be applied to poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-ZnO solar cells to enhance performance. The UV-ozone treatment showed negligible effect by photoelectron spectroscopy on the ZnO single crystal surfaces, but brought about electronic shifts consistent with increased upward band bending by ∼0.25 eV on the ZnO nanorod surface. Modest interface dipoles of ∼0.15 and ∼0.25 eV were measured between P3HT and the (1010) and (0001) single crystal orientations, respectively, with the dipole moment pointing from ZnO to the P3HT layer. The sol-gel films showed evidence of forming a small interface dipole in the opposite direction, which illustrates the difference in surface chemistry between the solution-grown ZnO and the ZnO single crystals