Rapid Combustion Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures

Zinc oxide nanostructures were grown on the surface of a Zn probe using the flame synthesis method. A sleeve surrounding the zinc probe is employed to protect the wire from melting inside the high temperature region of the flame. Different morphologies of Zn oxide structures are prepared by varying the size diameter of the sleeve. The synthesized structures include cylindrical, polyhedral, and complex 3D structures. The polyhedral structures have cubical, hexagonal, and pentagonal cross sections. Results indicated that the structures grown using the sleeve with larger size diameter window opening have higher length-to diameter aspect ratio. The nanorods are single crystalline with hexagonal wurzite (ZnO) internal structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area diffraction pattern (SADP) were used to characterize the synthesized structures. Moreover, the growth mechanism of ZnO nanostructures is briefly discussed