Synthesis of various ZnO morphologies by using surfactants and oxidizing agents via hydrothermal method

Abstract

ZnO has been applied in optics, optoelectronics, and sensors because of its direct wide band gap energy of 3.37 eV at room temperature. In this study, ZnO particles with various morphologies were synthesized by hydrothermal method at 120 C using surfactants and oxidizing agents. Zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were employed as the starting materials. Short rod-like or plate-like ZnO were prepared when sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and isobutyl alcohol (isobutanol) were used as a surfactant and a co-surfactant, respectively. On the contrary, the length of ZnO rods was increased with the addition of oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and potassium permanganate (KMnO4). The synthesized particles were characterized by FE-SEM, TEM, and XRD. Also, the effects of ZnO morphologies on the PL spectra were investigated.