A novel mercury-media route to synthesize ZnO hollow microspheres

Zinc oxide (ZnO) hollow microspheres were prepared by templates of surfactant spheres in mercury-media for the first time. Field emission scan electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectra (IR) and N2 adsorption–desorption analysis were used to characterize morphologies and structure features of the products. The obtained ZnO hollow microspheres are amorphous, 1–3 μm in diameter and 70–140 nm in wall thickness. After heat treatment at 500 °C for 2 h, the amorphous ZnO hollow spheres transform to hexagonal wurtzite structure ZnO, and retain hollow sphere morphologies. During the growth of ZnO hollow microspheres, Zn is oxidized at mercury/air interface and the formed ZnO nanoparticles are assembled on the surface of surfactant spheres. PEG plays an important role for the synthesis of ZnO hollow microspheres.