The effect of the rate of precursor production on the purity and aggregation morphology of nanoparticulate zinc oxide

The synthesis of zinc oxide through the decomposition of a solid oxalate precursor was investigated. It was found that the rate of preparation of the precursor had a quantitative effect on the morphology and extent of surface ligation of particles produced; contrary to our expectations, it was found that the slow combination of reagents led to a less pure product. It has been determined that this time dependence mimics the variation of reactant ratios. Zinc oxide particles were produced from a number of reactant ratios, and were characterised by TEM, XRD, FT-IR and DSC. It was found that the size of the crystallites produced was not affected, but that the nature of their surface ligation did rely upon these parameters.