Growing ZnO Crystals on Magnetite Nanoparticles

• Published in: Chemistry : a European journal 2004-04, Vol.10 (7), p.1845-1850
• Main Authors: Turgeman, Rachel, Tirosh, Shay, Gedanken, Aharon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: crystal engineering; magnetite; nanostructures; zeta potential; zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0947-6539; 1521-3765
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.200306022

We report herein on the oriented growth of ZnO crystals on magnetite nanoparticles. The ZnO crystals were grown by hydrolyzing a supersaturated aqueous solution of zinc nitrate. The seeds for the growth were magnetite nanoparticles with a diameter of 5.7 nm and a narrow size distribution. Hollowed ZnO hexagons of 0.15 μm width and 0.5 μm length filled with Fe3O4 particles were obtained. HR‐TEM (high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy) and selected‐area EDS (energy‐dispersive spectroscopy) show that the nanoparticles are homogenously spread in the ZnO tubes. Zeta potential measurements were employed to understand the relationship between the nanoparticles and the oriented growth of the ZnO crystals. The results show that the surfactants induced the directional growth of the ZnO crystals. Hollowed ZnO hexagons of 0.15 μm width and 0.5 μm length filled with functionaliazed Fe3O4 nanoparticles were grown from a supersaturated solution of Zn(NO3)2 seeded with the magnetic nanoparticles. HR‐TEM (high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy) and selected‐area EDS (energy‐dispersive spectroscopy) show that the nanoparticles are homogenously spread in the ZnO tubes. Zeta potential measurements show that the surfactants induced the directional growth of the ZnO crystals. The figure shows an HR‐SEM (high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy) micrograph of the ZnO crystals that were grown on the magnetite nanoparticles.