Effect of Zinc Nitrate Concentration on the Morphology of ZnO Nanostructures Grown by Hydrothermal Method

Abstract

Herein, the influence of the precursor concentration on the morphology of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures prepared via hydrothermal process using zinc nitrate salt with varied concentrations (from 0.01 to 0.15 m) is investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis transmittance, photoluminescence, and X‐ray diffraction are used to characterize the synthetized nanostructures. It is revealed in the obtained results that the salt concentration is a key parameter that controls the ZnO nanostructure. It is concluded that a low salt concentration (0.01 and 0.05 m) leads to the formation of ZnO nanorods while increasing the salt concentration (from 0.1 to 0.15 m) leads to the formation of nanosheets mixed with nanorods‐ and nanosheets‐like morphology. The ZnO nanostructures growth mechanism is discussed.