Rapid synthesis of nanocrystalline ZnO by a microwave-assisted combustion method

A facile and rapid microwave-assisted combustion method (MWAC) was developed to synthesis to produce nanocrystalline ZnO powder using dissolution of zinc nitrate (as the oxidant) and urea (as fuel) as the starting materials and water as solvent, then heating the resulting solution in a microwave oven. The study suggested that application of microwave heating to produce the homogeneous porous ZnO was achieved in a few minutes. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared combustion products were investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), Raman spectra, UV–Vis absorbance spectra and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD, FTIR and Raman spectra confirmed the formation of hexagonal wurtzite structural ZnO and the SEM results indicated the porous surface characteristic of the products. The as-prepared powders have larger band gap energy (3.06 eV) and are described here.

Graphical abstractThe prepared Nanocrystalline ZnO powder is foamy porous formed is obtained by the microwave-assisted combustion method. From the Rietveld results, each anion is surrounded by four cations at the corners of the tetrahedron and the unit cell has two atoms containing two units of ZnO. This synthesis process is an economical and simplicity.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlightsNanocrystalline ZnO has been successfully synthesized using urea as fuel. ► XRD results are confirming the formation of a hexagonal wurtzite phase. ► ZnO materials prepared by this method are porous particles. ► This method is an economical method with respect to energy, time and simplicity.