Effect of Additive Chemistry and Growth Duration on Morphology and Photoresponse

Abstract

In this work, the influence of additive chemistry and growth duration on the morphology and photoresponse of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanostructures was systematically investigated. Potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) and trisodium citrate (Na3C6H5O7) were introduced into the precursor solution to regulate nucleation dynamics, crystal growth orientation, and surface morphology. The synergistic effect of these additives facilitated the formation of well-defined ZnO nanoplates with improved surface uniformity and strong adhesion to the substrate. The optimized device (ZKC3) exhibited a remarkable photocurrent of 3.6 × 10-3 A, a dark current of 2.5 × 10-10 A, a high responsivity of 3613 A/W, and a photosensitivity of 1.4 × 10-7 at 320 nm under a 20 V bias, demonstrating excellent UV detection performance. These results emphasize that optimizing additive chemistry and growth duration plays a pivotal role in achieving tailored ZnO morphology and enhanced device performance, offering a viable route toward cost-effective and scalable optoelectronic device fabrication. © 2026 IEEE.