Rapid synthesis of vertically aligned α-MoO nanostructures on substrates.

We report a new procedure for large scale, reproducible and fast synthesis of polycrystalline, dense, vertically aligned α-MoO nanostructures on conducting (FTO) and non-conducting substrates (Si/SiO) by using a simple, low-cost hydrothermal technique. The synthesis method consists of two steps, firstly formation of a thermally evaporated Cr/MoO seed layer, and secondly growth of the nanostructures in a highly acidic precursor solution. In this report, we document a growth process of vertically aligned α-MoO nanostructures with varying growth parameters, such as pH and precursor concentration influencing the resulting structure. Vertically aligned MoO nanostructures are valuable for different applications such as electrode material for organic and dye-sensitized solar cells, as a photocatalyst, and in Li-ion batteries, display devices and memory devices due to their high surface area.