Synthesis of zinc oxide by zinc–air system

Abstract: An economical and environment friendly zinc–air system route is used for the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) on a zinc (Zn) plate in room temperature. A Zn plate and a single air-cathode are used as the anode and cathode, respectively. It is found that the growth of ZnO increases with increasing electrolyte solution concentration until an optimum concentration is reached. A synthesis profile shows that the formation of ZnO in KOH+ZnO aqueous electrolyte occurs faster (about 500min) compared to KOH aqueous electrolyte solution (about 600min). The values of the plateau voltages for both electrolytes are ∼1.2V. A mixture of saturated ZnO powder in the KOH solution improves the microstructure, reduces the period of synthesis profile and decreases the degradation rate of the Zn plate. The field emission scanning electron microscopy observation shows that needle structures form. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the needle structure is ZnO. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]