Facile and fast synthesis of flower-like ZnO nanostructures

A fast and facile method has been developed to synthesise flower-like ZnO nanostructures at room temperature without using any capping agent. ZnO nanoflowers could be easily prepared by adding ethanol to the precursor solution having higher concentration of hydroxide ions. The amount of ethanol plays an important role in the formation of ZnO nanoflowers. The products were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the sample consists of near-band edge emission at ∼385 nm as well as a strong and broad green–yellow emission band due to the presence of defect states in the sample. A reasonable growth mechanism is also proposed for the formation of flower-like ZnO nanostructures.

► Flower-like ZnO nanostructures have been synthesized at room temperature without using any capping agents.
► ZnO nanoflowers can be obtained in 10 min.
► The concentration of ethanol plays an important effect in the morphology of the final product.
► XRD studies confirmed the crystalline nature and wurtzite phase of the sample.
► The synthesized material exhibits strong green–yellow emission in the visible region.