Polyvinylpyrrolidone-assisted ZnO growth via hydrothermal method

The effect of in-situ addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the structural and optical properties of ZnO was investigated. PVP-assisted ZnO samples were fabricated using hydrothermal method. SEM images revealed that the ZnO microstructures consist of twinned hexagonal plates that become smoother as PVP concentration is increased. XRD data indicated that the as-prepared samples were indexed to the well-crystallized hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO with no secondary phases or shift in the peaks observed. Strong UV emission and weak green-yellow emissions were observed in the PL spectra of the as-prepared samples at room temperature. Results suggest that PVP is an effective structure-directing agent to control the morphological and optical properties of ZnO as reflected from the SEM and PL spectra without significantly changing the crystal structure.