Synthesis of Graphene-ZnO Heterogeneous Nanostructures by Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of three dimensional heterostructures graphene nanostructures (HGN) comprising continuous large area graphene layers and ZnO nanostructures, fabricated via chemical vapor deposition. Characterization of large area HGN demonstrates that it consists of 1–5 layers of graphene, and exhibits high optical transmittance and enhanced electrical conductivity. Electron microscopy investigation of the three dimensional heterostructures shows that the morphology of ZnO nanostructures is highly dependent on the growth temperature. It is observed that ordered crystalline ZnO nanostructures are preferably grown along the <0001> direction. Ultraviolet spectroscopy indicates that the CVD grown HGN layers has excellent optical properties. A combination of electrical and optical properties of graphene and ZnO building blocks in ZnO based HGN provides unique characteristics for opportunities in future optoelectronic devices.