Multi-capping agents in size confinement of ZnO nanostructured particles

In the present paper, we report a new approach to synthesize crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in the presence of multi-capping agents namely poly-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and citric acid (CA), with zinc acetate dihydrate and sodium hydroxide (NaOH as pellets) as a source material and their characteristic studies. The ZnO nanoparticles grown under this simple chemical process involve a heterogeneous chemical reaction in the presence of water as a solvent medium and reaction temperature of 100 °C for 48 h in a closed environment. The structural, optical and chemical features of ZnO nanoparticles were systematically studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Ultra Violet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy. The Williamson–Hall (W–H) plot was also performed to distinguish the effect of crystalline size-induced broadening and strain-induced broadening at Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) of the XRD profile. The growth mechanism of ZnO nanoparticles and the effective capping mechanism shown by each capping agent are briefly discussed.