Effects of specific salts on the morphologies of ZnO microstructures

The influences of different kinds of inorganic and organic salts on the morphologies of ZnO microstructures prepared via a facile hydrothermal route have been investigated. The phase structures, morphologies and properties of the final products were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. it is found that sulfates exhibit most distinct effect on the morphologies of final products. The possible mechanism for the phenomenon has been proposed. The dependence of PL properties on morphologies and sizes of final products has been clearly observed. This work may provide a new and effective means to tune the morphologies of products by introducing specific ions into the synthetic process. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.