Hydrothermal zinc oxide nanowire growth using zinc acetate dihydrate salt

Hydrothermal approach is widely used for the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires. Zinc nitrate hexahydrate, zinc acetate and zinc chloride are three common salts that are used for synthesis. Among these, zinc nitrate hexahydrate is primarily used in many studies and zinc chloride is preferred for electrodeposition. In this work, zinc acetate dihydrate salt is used for the growth of ZnO nanowires and the effects of time, temperature, solution concentration and concentration ratios of the precursor chemicals are investigated. It is found that the growth time and solution concentration control the lengths of the nanowires, whereas the precursor concentration ratio and solution concentration control their diameter. High solution concentrations and high zinc acetate dihydrate concentrations lead to the development of thin film morphology. Optimum growth parameters are obtained and suggested for the use of zinc acetate dihydrate as a zinc source for growing ZnO nanowires with high aspect ratio (AR). The use of zinc acetate dihydrate leads to the formation of ZnO nanowires without impurities and eliminates the need for using extra capping agents.