Facile glycothermal synthesis of ZnO nanopowder at low temperature

Abstract

ZnO nanopowder was synthesized using a relatively facile and convenient glycothermal process with various reaction temperatures and times. ZnO nanopowder was successfully synthesized at temperatures as low as 120°C using zinc acetate as the Zn source and diethylene glycol as the solvent. No mineralizers or precipitation processes were used in the fabrication, which suggests that the spherical ZnO nanopowders were directly prepared in the glycothermal process. The prepared ZnO nanopowders were characterized using XRD, FE-SEM, TG-DTA, UV–vis, TEM, and PL measurements. The shape and dispersibility of the ZnO nanopowders could be controlled by the glycothermal reaction conditions. The prepared hexagonal ZnO nanopowder exhibited a spherical shape with diameters of approximately 10–50nm. When the reaction temperature was increased to above 200°C, the shape of the ZnO powder changed from spherical to rod-like. The highest intensity of the UV emission peak centered at 383.5nm was increased upon increasing the reaction temperature in the room temperature PL spectrum of the ZnO nanopowder synthesized using the glycothermal process, suggesting that the ZnO nanopowders with the best crystallinity were obtained under these conditions.