Synthesis of flower-like ZnO nanostructures by an organic-free hydrothermal process

Abstract

Flower-like ZnO nanostructures, which consisted of sword-like ZnO nanorods, have beenprepared by an organic-free hydrothermal process. The XRD pattern indicated thatthe flower-like ZnO nanostructures were hexagonal. The SAED and HRTEMexperiments implied that the sword-like ZnO nanorods were single crystal in nature andpreferentially grew up along the [001] direction. The effects of temperature, pH value andmineralizer on the morphology have been also investigated. It is considered thatpH value is the main factor to influence the morphology because of its effect onthe initial nuclei and growth environment of ZnO. Finally, the mechanism fororganic-free hydrothermal synthesis of the flower-like ZnO nanostructure is discussed.