STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnO NANOPOWDERS SYNTHESIZED BY THERMAL DECOMPOSITION

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanostructures attract considerable attention of researchers due to their unique properties such as electrical conductivity, piezoelectric properties, optical transparency, emission, wide forbidden zone. Zinc oxide nanopowders are obtained by various methods: hydrothermal synthesis, sol-gel method, pyrolysis, chemical precipitation from solution and others. The task of development of low-cost methods of zinc oxide synthesis with high reproducibility is actual. The thermal decomposition method is a controlled relatively inexpensive method that can enable large scale production without the use of complex equipment and expensive materials.  In this work, nanostructured ZnO samples were prepared by thermal decomposition of zinc acetate dehydrate at temperatures 400 ̊С and 700 ̊С. The influence of such synthesis parameters as duration and temperature on the morphology and structural properties of the obtained samples was investigated. It was found that the morphology of the synthesised ZnO samples significantly depends on the synthesis temperature. The obtained Raman scattering spectra show characteristic peaks of zinc oxide and carbon. An efficient, inexpensive method for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles with controlled morphology, promising for use as photocatalysts, the basis for the development of sensor devices, is presented.