Hybrid filter material was obtained via modification of polypropylene (PP) nonwoven with nanosize zinc oxide particles of a high aspect ratio. Modification was conducted as a three-step process, a variant of hydrothermal method used for synthesis of nano-ZnO, adopted for coating three dimensional polymeric nonwoven filters. The process consisted of plasma treatment of nonwoven to increase its wettability, deposition of ZnO nanoparticles and low temperature hydrothermal growth of ZnO rods. The modified nonwovens were investigated by a high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). It has been found that the obtained hybrid filters offer a higher filtration efficiency, in particular for so called most penetrating particle sizes.

In this work we discuss a method of preparation of a highly sensitive light detector based on ZnO nanorods. A photoresistor constructed by us is based on a heterojunction between high quality ZnO nanorods and high resistivity p-type Si used as a substrate for nanorods’ deposition. ZnO nanorods are grown by a modified version of a microwave assisted hydrothermal method which allows for growth of high quality ZnO nanorods in a few minutes. The obtained photoresistor responds to a wide spectral range of light starting from near infrared (IR) to ultraviolet (UV). Properties of the detector are evaluated. We propose the use of the detector as an optical switch.