Preparation of Zinc Oxide Particles by Surfactant-Assisted Hydrothermal Method

The influence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyacrylamide (PAM) as surfactants on the hydrothermal process of Zinc oxide (ZnO) were studied by particle size analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of surfactant has a remarkable effect on the morphology and size distribution of prepared ZnO microcrystals. Both SDS and PAM can decrease the particle size of ZnO microcrystals. When SDS was added with 2wt% of the basic formula, the size distribution of the resulting ZnO particles was the narrowest. As to PAM, the optimal amount for narrowest distribution of ZnO particles was 1.0wt% of the basic formula. The hydrothermal process involving SDS fabricated a rod-like structure, while the PAM involving process fabricated a plate-like structure.