Synthesis of structural and optical characterization of surfactant capped ZnO nanocrystalline

• CTAB is excellent capping agent for ZnO nanoparticles.
• Band-gap energy was calculated using UV–Visible spectra.
• The chemical bonding with ZnO is confirmed by FT-IR spectra.
• AFM films exhibited very smooth surface and good crystal structures.
• Optoelectronic device like tunable light emitting diode in near future.

The presence of surfactant (CTAB) at three different concentrations viz., (0.5, 1 and 1.5 M) on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystalline at 550 °C was synthesized. The optical properties of each surfactant capped zinc oxide nanocrystalline were investigated using UV–Visible absorption. The characterization of these nanocrystalline was performed by X-ray diffractometer Spectrum (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transformer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The effect of CTAB on the morphology of the ZnO was studied by SEM/EDS which revealed that the diameter of the product is in the range of 42–70 nm. Out of the three surfactant concentrations CTAB (0.5 M) capped zinc oxide nanoparticle has smallest crystalline size of 19.4 nm. Thus, the presence of surfactant on the surface of zinc oxide plays a significant role in reducing defect. The excitonic UV emission has been observed at 275 nm.

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