Ultrafast formation of ZnO nanorods via seed-mediated microwave assisted hydrolysis process

Abstract

One dimensional (1D) zinc oxide, ZnO nanostructures have shown promising results for usage in photodiode and optoelectronic device due to their high surface area. Faster and conventional method for synthesis ZnO nanorods has become an attention for researcher today. In this paper, ZnO nanorods have been successfully synthesized via two-step process, namely alcothermal seeding and seed-mediated microwave hydrolysis process. In typical process, the ZnO nanoseeds were grown in the growth solution that contained equimolar (0.04 M) of zinc nitrate hexahydrate, Zn (NO3).6H2O and hexamethylenetetramine, HMT. The growth process was carried inside the inverted microwave within 5- 20 s. The effect of growth parameters (i.e. concentration, microwave power, time reaction) upon the modification of ZnO morphology was studied. ZnO nanostructures were characterized by Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The densities of nanorods were evaluated by the Image J analysis. It was found that the morphology (e.g. shape and size) of nanostructures has changed drastically with the increment of growth solution concentration. The density of ZnO nanorods was proven to increase with the increasing of reaction time and microwave power. We hypothesize that the microwave power might enhance the rate of nucleation and promote the faster nanostructure growth as compared with the normal heating condition due to the superheating phenomenon. This method might promote a new and faster alternative way in nanostructure growth which can be applied in currently existing application.