Abstract This work reports the successful fabrication of a UV photodetector based on ZnO crystalline nanofibers obtained by electrospinning of PSG/ZnAc (pork skin gelatin/zinc acetate) precursor solution and subsequent calcination at 550°C. FE-SEM images revealed a homogeneous morphology with porous fibers of 84 ± 18 nm diameter. At the same time, XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed the formation of ZnO after the calcination process, with wurtzite structure and preferential orientation in the (002) plane. The optical properties showed a direct energy bandgap of 3.11 eV, suitable for applications in the UV-A range. The device exhibited excellent photoconductive performance, with a photocurrent of 0.695 µA at 1.91 mW/cm² (5 V), an Iphoto/Idark ratio ≈ of approximately 3, and characteristic response (23.8 s) and recovery (1512 s) times. The responsiveness reached 7.54 mA/W, suggesting a photodetection mechanism based on trap-controlled relaxation processes. The combination of their crystallinity, controlled morphology, and prolonged stability (6000 s) positions these ZnO nanofibers as promising candidates for the development of UV sensors in environmental applications and advanced optoelectronic systems.
Flores-García et al. (Tue,) studied this question.