Electrohydrodynamic Processing of p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxides

Electrohydrodynamic processing is capable of synthesizing various materials in the form of porous/dense thin films, nanofibers, nanorods, nanobelts, and ribbons, which is highly favorable for functional oxides. The tailored microstructures and properties derived from electrohydrodynamic forming also give rise to new research interests on some classical oxides, such as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs). Here a case of feasible electrospray synthesis of classical ZnO is demonstrated with tailored p-type conductivity. Another p-type TCO, CuAlO2, was prepared by both electrospray and electrospinning methods and the processing-derived electrical and optical properties are demonstrated. The last part of the paper discusses some emerging applications especially for CuAlO2as potential nanobuilding blocks enabled by electrohydrodynamic processing.