Properties of sol gel synthesized ZnO nanoparticles

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 29; no. 11; pp. 9474 - 9485
• Main Authors: Manikandan, B., Endo, Tamio, Kaneko, Satoru, Murali, K. R., John, Rita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical elements; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dielectric loss; Dielectric properties; Diffraction; Electrical properties; Electrical resistivity; Emission analysis; Field emission microscopy; Flux density; Fourier transforms; Impedance; Infrared spectroscopy; Lattice parameters; Materials Science; Methylene blue; Nanoparticles; Optical and Electronic Materials; Parameter estimation; Permittivity; Photocatalysis; Scanning electron microscopy; Sol-gel processes; Spectrum analysis; Synthesis; Wurtzite; X ray analysis; X-ray diffraction; Zinc acetate; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-018-8981-8

In this work, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol gel method using zinc acetate as precursor. The synthesized powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman, UV–Visible spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), impedance analysis and photocatalysis activity studies. X-ray diffraction studies indicate that ZnO nanoparticles have single phase with wurtzite hexagonal structure. The lattice parameters were estimated using Scherrer formula. Micro strain, stress, energy density and crystallite size were analysed using Williamson–Hall model. The FTIR spectrum showed the characteristics absorption peak of ZnO at 458.82 cm −1 and authenticates the presence of ZnO nanoparticles. The FE-SEM characterization shows flake like morphology and the presence of chemical element composition is identified in the EDAX analysis. The optical band gap was found to be 3.1 eV. The presence of Zn–O stretching mode was confirmed from Raman spectrum. The electrical properties such as dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and ac conductivity were analyzed from impedance data. The prepared ZnO nanoparticles show good photocatalytic behaviour for methylene blue dye and the rate constant was calculated as 0.0296 min −1 .