Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles by Sol-Gel Process

Abstract

In the present work zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) were successfully synthesized by a sol-gel method and zinc acetate dehydrate and triethnolamine (TEA) were used as the precursor materials. Ethanol and ammonium hydroxide takes care for the homogeneity and PH value of the solution and helps to make a stoichiometric solution to get Zinc oxide nanoparticles. The ZnO powder obtained from this method is calcined at 700 oC and 900 o C temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV- visible spectroscopy and DSC-TG. Results shows that the calcinations temperature significantly affected the crystalline nature, particle size, and optical properties of the processed ZnO nanoparticles. The XRD spectra indicate that the ZnO crystal has a hexagonal wurtzite structure. TEM images agreement with the XRD data shown that the average size of the nanoparticles. The optical properties of the samples are investigated by measuring the UV-VIS absorption at room temperature. With increasing calcinations temperature the band gap of the samples remains almost same, and the size of the particles increases.