Study on the Surface Functionalization of ZnO Nanorods and Their Tunable Electrochemiluminescence Properties

In this work, ZnO nanorods were prepared and functionalized with two different alkanethiols. Fourier transform infrared spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectra, thermogravimetric analysis/ differential scanning calorimetry measurements and Raman spectra were applied to characterize the surface composition of functionalized ZnO nanorods. Photoluminescence spectra analyses were applied to characterize the optical properties of the functionalized ZnO nanorods. Electrochemiluminescence measurements were used to investigate the influence of surface functionalization to the surface conductivity and emission property of ZnO nanorods. The results indicated that the length of alkyl chains in the functional thiol moiety can influence the electrochemiluminescence intensity and the maximum peak position of electrochemiluminescence spectrum of functionalized ZnO nanorods, the variation of electrochemiluminescence properties can be attributed to the increase of electrical resistance of ZnO nanorods and the changes of surface states that are related to the specific hole trap sites and the shallow electron levels.