WS₂-decorated ZnO nanorods and enhanced ultraviolet emission

Enhancing the ultraviolet emission from ZnO nanostructures is of interest in the applications for fabricating ZnO-based short-wavelength light-emitting devices. We decorated the surfaces of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods with WS₂ by pulsed laser deposition and succeeded in enhancing the ultraviolet emission of ZnO. The WS₂-decorated ZnO nanorods were characterized for morphology, structure and optical properties. Bare ZnO nanorods have a high capability of emitting ultraviolet excitonic emission. WS₂ decorating resulted in the tailoring of the ultraviolet emission and an enhancement over 2 times was obtained for the ZnO nanorods covered with a thin WS₂ coating. At low temperatures, more enhancement in the ultraviolet emission of ZnO can be achieved due to WS₂ decorating.