Green synthesis of symmetrical imidazolium based ionic liquids and their application in the preparation of ZnO nanostructures

Environmentally benign procedure for synthesis symmetrical imidazolium based ionic liquids has been achieved. These Ionic liquids dissolved in water have been used as a reaction medium for synthesis of different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures like nanocoral, spherical and nanosheet by reflux method. The structural and optical properties of these ZnO particles were studied by using XRD, SEM and UV–visible. The characteristic results revealed that the anion and cation of ionic liquids effect on band gap and morphology of the zinc oxide species. The results show that the longer alkyl chain at positions 1 and 3 of imidazole ring ionic liquid cause the nanosheet morphology.