Effect of stirring time on ZnO nanoparticles properties and morphology

Abstract The impact of stirring time on the ZnO nanoparticles assembly and properties as a novel study was investigated. A precipitation technique has been used for synthesizing ZnO nanoparticles and the impact of stirring time as well as calcination temperature and time were analyzed. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used for characterizing the resulting powder. The effect of stirring time, (viz., 0, 2, 4 and 6 h), on the optical properties was investigated using UV-Visible spectroscopy. The XRD analysis shown that all of the acquired powders had a pure form of ZnO nanoparticles with distinct crystallite size. The best circumstances for ZnO nanoparticle synthesis were 2h stirrings time and 400°C for 1 h, as calcination temperature and time, respectively. The FTIR spectra show that ZnO nanoparticles prepared at different stirring times appeared in wavenumber range 435.3 - 458.2 cm −1 . SEM pictures reveal different surface distribution with some agglomeration through a variation on stirring time. The bandgap value was identical for 2 and 4 h stirring time with value 3.18 eV while, zero and 6 h stirring showing the same value with slight increase compared with 2 and 4 stirring to be 3.2 eV.