ZnO nanoparticles obtained by mechanochemical technique and the optical properties

Abstract

Crystalline ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by mechanochemical method. Mechanochemical processing involves the mechanical activation of solid-state displacement reactions at low temperatures in a ball mill. Statistical design was used to investigate the effect of main parameters (i.e. time, milling rate and calcination temperature) on ZnO crystallite size and morphology. After annealing at 400 °C in air, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were obtained. The milled powders are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TG/DTA and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The crystallite size of ZnO samples calculated from XRD is consistent with the TEM images and estimated to be less than 20 nm. The optical properties of the samples were studied by UV–vis spectrophotometer.