Synthesis, structural, optical and thermal analysis of nanostructured ZnO

Abstract

Nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) has been synthesized via a one step solution based wet chemical method. Zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn (CH3COO)2 · 2H2O) was used as the precursor and its growth conditions were optimized for the formation of nanostructured ZnO. The powder pattern X-ray diffraction data of synthesized ZnO confirm particles of radius of about 20 nm with wurtzite hexagonal phase and preferential growth along (101) plane. Transmission electron microscopic results support the particle size value obtained through X-ray diffraction study. Clusters of nanostructured ZnO in agglomerated form are observed in scanning electron micrographs. The absorption bands observed at 509 cm−1 and 406 cm−1 in infrared spectra are assigned to ∊M-O of the synthesized compound. The absorption spectrum shows a narrow peak near the band edge in the exciton absorption region at about 371 nm and a blue shift is observed with respect to the bulk exciton absorption, 375 nm. Thermo-gravimetric analysis indicates weight loss corresponding to the formation of ZnO. The mechanism for the growth of nanostructured ZnO in solution has also been discussed.

Controllable assembly and properties of ZnO nanowires

“…Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires have received extensive interest for use in photodetectors, gas sensors, electronic devices and dye-sensitized solar cells (Elango et al, 2013) due to their diversity in properties, such as direct wide band gap, large saturation velocity, high breakdown voltage and large exciton binding energy at room temperature (Goldberger et al, 2004). Arranging ZnO nanowires into an appropriate position is one of the most important issues in the construction of these nanodevices (Lee et al, 2008).…”