ZnO – nanostructures, defects, and devices

ZnO has received much attention over the past few years because it has a wide range of properties that depend on doping, including a range of conductivity from metallic to insulating (including n-type and p-type conductivity), high transparency, piezoelectricity, wide-bandgap semiconductivity, room-temperature ferromagnetism, and huge magneto-optic and chemical-sensing effects. Without much effort, it can be grown in many different nanoscale forms, thus allowing various novel devices to be achieved. We review recent studies of ZnO nanostructures, fabrication, novel device applications, and its potential as an electron-acceptor material in hybrid solar cells. Control of its rich defect chemistry, which is critical for controlling properties but has not been widely addressed in the context of novel applications, is also discussed.