Rapid synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles from an alkaline zinc solution via direct precipitation

The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel method for producing zinc oxide (ZnO). Within only 10 min of the synthesis procedure, ZnO nanoparticles were precipitated directly from a sodium zincate after partial neutralization with sulfuric acid. The entire synthesis process was carried out at room temperature. There were no additives or additional operations, such as calcination, required in the proposed method. XRD, FESEM, and BET techniques were used to characterize the product, and XRD confirmed the formation of crystalline ZnO devoid of other phases. Consideration of the height of XRD peaks revealed that ZnO crystallites grow preferentially along the c-axis. FESEM revealed particles with a diameter of 30-50 nm which was also confirmed by analysis of the broadening of XRD peaks. Nearly spherical particles were observed by the FESEM. These nanospheres were primarily adhered together to form platelets. Finally, the BET analysis revealed a substantial specific surface area of 20 m(2 )g(- 1).