Self-powered UV photodetector based on self-assembled CuO and spin-coated ZnO heterostructure

Environmentally benign sustainable development can be realized only by meeting our energy demands through devices that can operate by taking energy from their surrounding environment. Self-assembled nanostructured CuO on copper ribbon and spin-coated ZnO thin films were optimized for engineering a self-powered UV photodetector in this work. We optimize the thickness of the ZnO and CuO thin films and subsequently the concentration of the alkaline electrolyte KOH to deliver a self-powered UV photodetector which exhibits an ON/OFF ratio of 505, photosensitivity of ~ 3433%, responsivity of ~ 84 mAW −1 and an excellent incident photon to current conversion efficiency of ~ 30% at 360 nm. We demonstrate the actuation of the UV photodetector by integrating the cells and switching on red and green LEDs. Graphical Abstract