Preparation of Template Free Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Sol-Gel Chemistry

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle has been synthesized via sol-gel chemistry using zinc acetate as a precursor with sodium hydroxide solution through microemulsion technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies reveal that the resultant zinc oxide nanoparticles are wurtzite type with the controlled morphology of nano triangular and half ellipsoid structures. Room temperature photoluminescence measurement of zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibits a strong green band at around 375 nm with excitation energy of 3.30 eV indicating oxygen vacancies on the surface of the nanoparticles.