Abstract
Nanocrystalline zinc was electrodeposited by reducing the Zn2+ ion from acid sulphate bath at room temperature. The effect of reaction parameters on the particle size, nature and spectral characteristics are deliberated. The surface morphology and texture of zinc nanoparticles (Zn NPs) were characterised by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). SEM and TEM images showed the Zn NPs were in hexagonal structural morphology. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis reveals the chemical stoichiometry, and purity of the particles formed. The powder X-ray diffraction data indicates that the reflections of Zn NPs correspond hexagonal close packing structure with space group of P63/mmc. The line broadening was analysed by Debye–Scherrer equation and the average crystallite size of the zinc Nps synthesised at room temperature was in the range of 29 nm. Williamson–Hall analysis was used to study the contribution of crystallite size and lattice strain on the peak broadening. The surface plasmon resonance peak for the Zn NPs was observed near the blue shift with optical band gap of 3.38 eV. The influences of the current density, pH, additives, and concentration medium were analysed.
Highlights
Nanomaterials have received a significant attention over the past few decades due to their distinguished performance and potential applications
Surface morphology of zinc nanoparticles (Zn NPs) was characterised by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) (FEI Quanta FEG 200)
Based on the electron microscope images it is concluded that various forms of Zn NPs were formed depending on the reaction conditions
Summary
Nanomaterials have received a significant attention over the past few decades due to their distinguished performance and potential applications. Control of dimension and morphology of the metal nanoparticles have aroused the interest of researchers in the design of functional devices due to the optical and electronic properties of nanometre-sized materials, which determine their applications, and can be adapted by varying their size and shape. Among the various metal nanoparticles, zinc nanoparticles (Zn NPs) have been widely investigated because of the unusual properties due to their size and shape, which find wide range of technical applications. Zn NPs have received a considerable amount of attention for their applications in super hydrophobic substrate [4], rechargeable electrical batteries [5], gas sensor [6], corrosion resistance materials [7,8,9], and as substrates in the studies of catalysis [10]
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