Facile morphology-controlled hydrothermal synthesis of flower-like self-organized ZnO architectures

Flower-like self-organized crystalline ZnO architectures were obtained through a facile and controlled hydrothermal process. As-synthesized products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron diffraction and UV-Vis spectroscopy. XRD and electron diffraction results confirmed the obtained materials are pure wurtzite ZnO. The effects of different ratios of starting materials and solvent on the morphologies of ZnO hydrothermal products were also evaluated by SEM observations. It is suggested that the use of water, rather than ethanol as the solvent, as well as employing a precursor of Zn(Ac)₂ and 2NaOH (v/v) in hydrothermal reactions are responsible for the generation of specific flower-like self-assembled ZnO structures.