Synthesis of ZnO nanoflakes by the wet chemical method in the presence of Pb2+ alien cation and their structural and morphological properties

Pb2+ assisted ZnO nanoflakes were synthesized by the wet chemical method. The structure and phase purity of the samples were identified as hexagonal wurtzite structure from X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of Pb2+ concentration on the morphology of ZnO nanostructures was investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The formation mechanism of ZnO nanoflakes is selective adsorption of cationic Pb2+ on certain crystallographic facet. The single crystalline quality of the nanoflakes was confirmed from high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image. The presence of Pb2+ additives with ZnO nanostructures were identified by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. From EDS and XRD analysis, it is found that Pb2+ cations were not incorporated into the lattice and only were used as an additive for the synthesis of nanoflakes.