A green synthetic route for zinc oxide nanoarchitectures using l-lysine

Zinc oxide (ZnO) flowers comprising nanorods of average size ∼160 nm were rapidly synthesized using l-lysine as a precipitating and capping agent in aqueous medium in the absence of hydrothermal conditions. When NaOH substituted lysine, formation of only ZnO stars was observed, proving the crucial role of lysine in forming nanorods. XRD analysis of nanorods proved the formation of hexagonal ZnO and the preferential growth of (001) planes in complementary to SEM analysis. Effect of reaction temperature on resulting ZnO samples has been studied. Increase in the reaction temperature has increased the crystallite and the particle sizes of nanorods. A plausible mechanism of formation of ZnO architectures has been proposed.

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► Green approach because of the use of l-lysine.
► l-lysine serves as both precipitating and capping agent.
► Non-hydrothermal and rapid formation of nanorods.