Characterization of ZnO Nanostructures Synthesized through a Thermal Oxidation of Zn-C Mixture in Air

摘要

Tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals were synthesized via a simple oxidation process of Zn-C mixture in air at atmospheric pressure. The influence of carbon on the morphology and optical properties of the ZnO crystals was investigated. The ZnO crystals were characterized with an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and a cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. With increasing the carbon content in Zn source material, the size of ZnO tetrapods increased significantly. However, tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals were not found from Zn-C mixture with a weight ratio of 1 : 1, indicating that carbon had an effect on the morphology of ZnO crystals as well as the size of tetrapods. CL spectra of the ZnO crystals exhibited a strong ultraviolet (UV) emission peak at 380 nm and a weak green emission peak at 510nm. As the carbon content increased, the intensity of UV emission decreased and the green emission increased.