Single step synthesis of nanocrystalline ZnO via wet-milling

In this work, we describe the effect of milling speed on the formation, crystallite size, and lattice parameter of nanocrystalline ZnO in a single step process that is based on wet-milling of metallic Zn in distilled water The samples were characterized by XRD, TEM. and FTIR spectra The analyses reveal that although the 150 rpm milled sample exhibits imprints of Zn (OH)(2), 200, 250, 300, and 350 rpm milled samples possess the standard hexagonal ZnO wurtzite structure The crystallite size and lattice parameters of the samples were calculated from the XRD patterns by applying the Maud refinement procedure. According to the results, average crystallite size of the ZnO nanocrystals is in the range of 27 3-31 4 nm depending on the milling speed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved