Solvo-thermal synthesis and characterization of nest-like zinc oxide

With Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and NaOH as starting materials, a novel nest-like ZnO nanostructure was successfully synthesized by a solvo-thermal method. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy. The growth mechanism of the nest-like ZnO was discussed. The results show that the as-synthesized samples have a wurtzite structure, with a weak UV emission at about 395 nm, a green emission at around 557 nm and a blue-green emission at 453 nm. SEM investigation reveals that the growth route of the nest-like ZnO can be considered involving three stages: nano-sized ZnO sheet can be firstly achieved, then outspreads quickly and increasingly becomes a long fishbone-like strip with many branch sheets, and finally these sheets curl into a nest-like structure.