Effect of sulfate group-containing fuels on the morphology of ZnO powders prepared by solution combustion synthesis

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) powders were synthesized via solution combustion route using sodium octyl sulfate (SOS) as a sulfate group containing-anionic surfactant and sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (SLS) surfactant. Combustion behavior, phase evolution, microstructure, textural and optical properties of ZnO powders were investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, and diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques as a function of both fuel type and fuel amount. A specific correlation between the fuel type and the morphology of ZnO powder was established on the base of the presence/absence of sulfate group in the fuel. The ZnO powders obtained by the sulfate group-containing fuel (SOS) were composed of sheet-like particles, whereas the SLS fuel led to quasi-spherical and cuboid-like particles. The sheet-like morphology was more appeared at the stoichiometric fuel amount.