Local Structure of ZnO micro flowers and nanoparticles obtained by micro-segmented flow synthesis

Shuning Li; Amitava Roy; Henning Lichtenberg; Gregory Merchan; Challa S S R Kumar; J Michael Köhler

doi:10.1002/cphc.201100960

Local Structure of ZnO micro flowers and nanoparticles obtained by micro-segmented flow synthesis

Chemphyschem. 2012 Apr 23;13(6):1557-61. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201100960. Epub 2012 Mar 7.

Authors

Shuning Li¹, Amitava Roy, Henning Lichtenberg, Gregory Merchan, Challa S S R Kumar, J Michael Köhler

Affiliation

¹ Department of Physical Chemistry and Micro Reaction Technology, Ilmenau University of Technology, Ilmenau, Germany. shuning.li@tu-ilmenau.de

PMID: 22407573
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201100960

Abstract

The micro-segmented flow technique was applied for continuous synthesis of ZnO micro- and nanoparticles with short residence times of 9.4 s and 21.4 s, respectively. The obtained particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used to determine the size and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles. In addition, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy was employed to investigate local structural properties. The EXAFS measurements reveal a larger degree of structural disorder in the nanoparticles than the microparticles. These structural changes should be taken into consideration while evaluating the size-dependent visible emission of ZnO nanoparticles.