Synthesis and characterization of highly-ordered ZnO/PbS core/shell heterostructures

The strategy to manipulate nanoscale building blocks into well-organized heterostructures is very important to both material synthesis and nanodevice applications. In this work, highly-ordered ZnO/PbS core/shell nanowire arrays were fabricated by a facile and low temperature chemical route. Large area and well-aligned ZnO nanowire arrays were firstly fabricated on conductive glass substrates, and then the synthesis of ZnO/ZnS and ZnO/PbS core/shell nanowire arrays were realized by a chemical conversion method. The morphology, structure, and composition of the obtained nanostructures were confirmed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray diffraction measurements. The optical properties of the synthesized nanostructures were investigated by micro-Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. In the synthesized ZnO/PbS core/shell nanowire arrays, the ZnO cores can provide direct conduction pathways for electron transport and PbS shells possess superior photoelectric performance. Therefore, the obtained ZnO/PbS core/shell nanostructures may have potential application in photovoltaic devices.