Effect of polyethylene glycol and propyltrimethoxysilane on structural and optical properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by sol–gel process

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are prepared by sol–gel process, using both polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) as surfactant and propyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) as capping agent. Surface modification is performed in situ procedure. The physical parameters such as strain and stress values are calculated via the Williamson–Hall plot (W&H) assuming a uniform deformation model (UDM) and uniform stress deformation model, and by the size and strain plot method (SSP). The results show that the crystallite size estimated from Scherrer’s formula, (W&H), (UDM), (SSP) and the particle size estimated from DSL are inter-correlated, which confirm the small size and the isotropic nature of our ZnO NPs. The FTIR spectroscopy illustrates that PEG-400 and PTMS could be adsorbed at the ZnO NPs surface. The distinct emission peak in the blue band is located at 490 nm and E2 (high) mode is situated at 436 cm−1. Both results confirm the oxygen deficiency in the ZnO NPs.