ZnO nanorods have been grown on the surface of foamed nickel by a two-step method. Firstly, a layer of ZnO seed is sputtered on the surface of the foamed nickel by magnetron sputtering, and then the hydrothermal method is used to grow ZnO nanorods at different conditions (solution concentration, reaction time and reaction temperature). The results show that the morphology of ZnO nanorods is closely related to the solution concentration, reaction time, and reaction temperature. The energy band structure formed by the foamed nickel and ZnO seed layers and the growth mechanism of ZnO nanorods are discussed. The samples are characterized by Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. The absorption characteristics of samples to light are characterized by ultraviolet-to-visible (UV⁻VIS) absorption. The hydrophilicity of the samples is characterized by the static contact angle. By analyzing the performance characteristics of the samples at different conditions, we finally obtained the optimal growth parameters. At the optimal parameters, the morphology of the grown nanorods is regular, the ultraviolet band has strong absorption, and the surface of the samples forms a superhydrophobic surface.
Keywords: ZnO nanorods; hydrothermal method; nickel foam; superhydrophobic; ultraviolet absorption.