Synthesis and Characterization of Nano-Sized Hexagonal and Spherical Nanoparticles of Zinc Oxide

Abstract

ZnO plays an important role in many semiconductors technological aspects. Here, direct precipitation method was employed for the synthesis of nano-sized hexagonal ZnO particles, which is based on chemical reactions between raw materials used in the experiment. ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by calcinations of the ZnO precursor precipitates at 250 ˚C for 3hours. The particle size and structure of the products have been confirmed by XRD. The FT-IR study confirms the presence of functional groups. Also, the morphology and size distribution of ZnO nanoparticles was analyzed by TEM images. The optical properties were investigated by UV–Visible spectroscopy. The XRD results show that the size of the prepared nanoparticles is in the range of 20–40 nm, which this value is in good agreement with the TEM results. The FT-IR spectrum clearly indicates the formation of an interfacial chemical bond between Zn and O. Also the UV absorption depends on the particles size and morphology, so the optical properties enhances with decreasing nanoparticles size. Moreover the direct precipitation technique is a feasible method for production of ZnO nanopowders.