A simple all-solution approach to the synthesis of large ZnO nanorod networks

ZnO nanorods present great potential for application in optical, sensing and piezoelectric devices; thanks to
their nanometric diameter and large surface area. In some of these applications a probing current must flow
directly through the nanorods, requiring each nanorod to be directly connected to two electrodes. To attain
this architecture a few solutions have been proposed in the past, mostly involving the use of complex and
time-consuming procedures, but the large-scale production of such devices represents still a major
challenge. We present here a new all-solution approach that allows the fabrication of extensive selfassembled,
bi-dimensional networks of ZnO nanorods. Such networks can be easily produced on
interdigitated electrodes with no need for any alignment, resulting directly in the formation of very
robust devices. The entire process is fast, does not require any complex experimental apparatus and
involves only the use of inexpensive and environmentally friendly chemical reagents. We demonstrate
the potentiality of such networks in a gas sensing application, where these networks were able to detect
NO2 at trace levels, at low temperatures, using UV-visible activation.