Influence of Nucleation Rate on the Yield of ZnO Nanocrystals Prepared by Chemical Vapor Synthesis

ZnO nanocrystals were synthesized by chemical vapor synthesis from two different precursors-diethylzinc and bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethy1-3,5-heptanedionate)zinc-at different temperatures in a tubular hot wall reactor. It is observed that the yield of ZnO nanocrystals is temperature dependent, and it decreases with increasing reactor temperature for both precursors. The nucleation rate was calculated by classical nucleation theory and was correlated with the experimental yield of ZnO nanocrystals.