Preparation and dielectric properties of nanostructured ZnO whiskers

By a novel controlled combustion synthesis method, a large number of nanostructured ZnO whiskers with different morphologies, such as tetra-needles, long-leg tetra-needles and multi-needles, are prepared without any additive in open air at high temperature. The morphologies and crystalline structures of the as-prepared ZnO nanostructured whiskers are investigated by SEM and XRD. The possible growth mechanism on the nanostructured ZnO whiskers is proposed. The experimental results indicate that the dielectric constants and losses of the nanostructured ZnO whiskers are very low, demonstrating that the nanostructured ZnO whiskers are low-loss materials for microwave absorption in X-band. However, obvious microwave absorption in nanostructured ZnO whiskers is observed. The quasi-microantenna model may be attributed to the microwave absorption of the ZnO whiskers.