THE EFFECT OF TEMPLATE ON MORPHOLOGY AND OPTICALPROPERTY OF ZNONANOSTRUCTURES

Different morphologies of nanocrystalline ZnO particles have been synthesized by a simple reflux method, using different templates as sucrose, methyl cellulose, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), and casein. The structural and optical properties of these ZnO nanostructures are investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Visible absorption, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The characteristic results revealed that using different template not only prevent a drastic increase in the crystallite size of the zinc species but also provide suitable conditions for the oriented growth of primary nanoparticles with especial morphology. Also, it was found that the formation of ZnO with various morphologies could involve the role of preformed nucleus and the additives as a template used to control the growth rate of various facets of the preformed nucleus. Optical results reveal the morphology can affect the oxygen vacanciesrelated luminescence intensity and band gap of the samples. The band gap energies of these samples suggest that the materials belong to semiconductors and potential applications as photocatalyst could be expected.

Keywords:

ZnO nanoparticle , Nanocauliflower , Nanorode-like , Nanosheet-like