Preparation and Characterization of ZnO Nanostructures with Different Precursors via Solochemical Technique
In this work, the precursors zinc nitrate hexahydrate and zinc chloride were used to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystals, applying a simple solochemical technique. ZnO rod-like nanostructures were successfully obtained by chemical reaction between NaOH and zinc nitrate hexahydrate at 90 °C. The sample formed by chemical reaction between NaOH and zinc chloride at 90 °C showed the ZnO phase mixed with the Zn5(OH)8Cl2•H2O phase. Only after thermal treatment at 500 °C for 3 hours, the conversion of Zn5(OH)8Cl2•H2O in ZnO was achieved. The samples prepared with different precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Rietveld analysis to the X-ray diffraction data indicated that ZnO nanocrystals obtained have hexagonal wurtzite structure and nanometric-sized crystallites.