Exploiting electrodeposited flower-like Zn₄(OH)₆SO₄·4H₂O nanosheets as precursor for porous ZnO nanosheets

Flower-like ZnO nanosheets with porous structure are obtained by an indirect electrodeposition method. That is, flower-like Zn₄(OH)₆SO₄·4H₂O as precursor is first electro deposited in the Zn(NO₃)₂ electrolyte containing K₂S₂O₈ followed by a simple thermal treatment. The effects of some important electrodeposition parameters, such as K₂S₂O₈ concentration, electrodeposition potential and duration, on the morphology of flower-like Zn₄(OH)₆SO₄·4H₂O nanosheets are systematically studied. The Zn₄(OH)₆SO₄·4H₂O nanosheets could be converted to ZnO porous nanosheets by a simple heat treatment process. The ZnO porous nanosheets still present the flower-like structure and are composed of the ZnO nanocrystals about tens of nanometers in size. For the primary application, the quantum dot-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO porous nanosheets show a promising performance, obviously higher than those based on Zn₄(OH)₆SO₄·4H₂O nanosheets.