Determination of the Growth Rate of Hydrothermally Synthesised ZnO2 Crystallites

Powders consisting of nanoparticles of zinc peroxide were prepared via a simple hydrothermal process using zinc acetate dihydrate and hydrogen peroxide precursors. The size of the crystallites was determined using x-ray powder diffraction. Over a period of 5 hours the crystallite radius increased from 4 nm – 9 nm at a temperature of 68 °C ± 5 °C, with growth rate constant of 0.23 nm3 min−1 calculated using the Lifshitz, Slyozov, and Wagner model. The powders were further characterised with High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis, and Small Angle X-ray Scattering, showing well-crystallised ZnO2 nanoparticles.