Study on the effect of methanol on the morphology and optical properties of ZnO

Abstract Materials property is often associated with their structure and morphology. ZnO has shown many different types of morphologies that can be achieved by tuning the growth conditions. In this study, methanol was used to control the morphology of ZnO synthesized by a hydrothermal method. By changing the methanol concentration in the growth solution, ZnO nanosheets, nanorods, and microspheres were obtained and studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission microscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, UV-visible spectrophotometer and Photoluminescence spectrometer. The concentration of methanol in the growth solution was found to play a critical role in the formation of ZnO structures. The possible growth mechanism was discussed by considering the production of NO3 ions with the addition of methanol and their impact on ZnO growth through preferential surface adsorption on different facets.