Title: Effect of post-annealing temperature on structural and optical properties of nano-ZnO synthesised from ZnO₂ by laser ablation method

Authors: M.A. Gondal, Q.A. Drmosh, T.A. Saleh

Addresses: Laser Research Group, Physics Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. ' Laser Research Group, Physics Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. ' Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: Many techniques are being developed for the synthesis of nano-structure ZnO which is extensively applied in many fields due to its unique properties. In present study, a pulsed laser ablation technique using 355 nm UV laser radiations generated by third harmonic of Nd:YAG laser was applied for synthesis of nano structured ZnO for hydrogen generation by water splitting, waste water and degradation of dyes for clean water supplies. A disk of high purity zinc target was fixed at the bottom of a glass cell and irradiated by laser to produce ZnO₂ nano particles which was further converted into ZnO nano particles by annealing at different temperatures. The nanoparticles were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The dependence of the structural and optical properties on annealing temperature was studied. It is worth mentioning that not only the grain size was changed with annealing temperature but the lattice parameters |a| and |c| were also altered which has not been reported in open literature.

Keywords: nanoparticles; laser ablation; zinc oxide; zinc peroxide; applications; metal peroxides; post annealing treatment; nanotechnology; nanostructure; hydrogen generation; water splitting; wastewater treatment; dye degradation; dyes; clean water; grain size; lattice parameters.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNP.2010.035881

International Journal of Nanoparticles, 2010 Vol.3 No.3, pp.257 - 266

Published online: 07 Oct 2010 *

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