Phytoextract assisted hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO-NiO nanocomposites using neem leaves extract

This work represents the synthesis of zinc oxide nanorods, nickel oxide nanoparticles, and zinc oxide-nickel oxide nanocomposites by combining Neem leave extract with hydrothermal synthesis. Five samples were prepared by green synthesis which is based on Neem leaves aqueous extract followed by hydrothermal treatment at 250 degrees C for 2.5 h. The five prepared samples are: 100% NiO (N100), 75% NiO: 25% ZnO (Z25-N75), 50% NiO: 50% ZnO (Z50-N50), 25% NiO: 75% ZnO (Z75-N25), and 100% ZnO (Z100). The prepared nanoparticles and nano -composites were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The XRD results show that the ZnO formed as a hexagonal wurtzite phase and NiO as a cubic phase. The microstructure of the formed samples is versatile with nanorods ZnO and spherical NiO. The nanocomposites microstructure appears as a heterostructure of both oxides with NiO particles on the surface of ZnO rods. The TEM confirms the nanosize and the crystallinity of samples.