Rapid and Preferential Growth of ZnO Nanowire Arrays Solely On Seeded Substrates for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

A preferential growth process of ZnO nanowire arrays solely on seeded substrates has been developed. This process prevents precipitation of ZnO in the bulk solution and allows the rapid formation of high quality ZnO wire. The ZnO wire can grow at a rate of more than 4 µm/h and a more than 30 µm long ZnO wire can be readily achieved within 10 h. The long ZnO nanowire arrays were applied to dye-sensitized solar cells, and more than doubled light harvesting efficiency and performance improvement have been demonstrated.