Enhanced Field Emission Properties of Ag Nanoparticle-Decorated ZnO Nanorods Under Ultraviolet Illumination

In this paper, pure ZnO and Ag nanoparticle (NP)-decorated ZnO nanorods (NRs) were successfully synthesized via a low-temperature hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterized through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected-area electron diffractometry. The enhanced field emission (FE) behavior of the Ag NP-decorated ZnO NRs along the [0002] crystal c-axis and their single-crystalline hexagonal structures were characterized with surface-protruding Ag NPs. The resulting FE in the dark and under ultraviolet illumination had low turn-ON electric fields of 3.93 and 2.04 V · μm -2 , whereas the enhanced field enhancement factors were 1593 and 57872, respectively.