Understanding of ZnO Morphologies In The Presence of Surfactants.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures (dumbbell, flower and tablets) are synthesized using zinc precursor, anionic surfactant Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) and cationic surfactant Dodecyl Trimethyl Ammonium bromide (DTAB) by chemical route. Inadequate covering of ZnO with SDS leads to ZnO dumbbells, which are assembled to form flower like geometry. Mixture of SDS and DTAB retards the growth along polar planes i.e. (0001) and (000ī) respectively, resulting in the formation of tablets. The experimental results are studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis), which indicates that chemical nature of surfactants, is responsible for the variation of ZnO morphologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]