Synthesis, Optical, and Morphological Studies of ZnO Powders and Thin Films Fabricated by Wet Chemical Methods

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were prepared from Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 precursor, capped with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), and annealed at 600 °C. The obtained powders were characterized by a powder X-ray diffraction (PXD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), and third-order nonlinear (NL) optical measurement. Morphological evaluation by TEM and SEM measurements indicated that the precursor micro-particles are ball-shaped structures composed of plates with a thickness of approximately 10 nm. ZnO thin films, as well as ZnO/polymer multilayer layouts, were obtained by wet chemical methods (spin- and dip-coating). Surface topography and morphology of the obtained films were studied by SEM and AFM microscopy. Films with uniformly distributed ZnO plates, due to the erosion of primary micro-particles were formed. The fabricated specimens were also analyzed using a spectroscopic ellipsometry in order to calculate dielectric function and film thickness.