As one of advanced functional materials, 1D ZnO with small diameter is a promising candidate for many applications as gas sensor, field emission, solar cell and photocatalyst, etc. since the electrical, optical and mechanical properties of 1D ZnO are closely related to its morphology and structure. The synthesis of 1D ZnO with small diameter via wet chemical routes was usually carried out in dilute solution, remaining the problem of poor efficiency. Recently, it was reported that ε-Zn(OH)₂ could be converted to 1D ZnO effectively under mild conditions, but it’s still difficult to produce 1D ZnO with a diameter lower than 100 nm. In this work, a facile method was developed to synthesize ZnO nanowhiskers with a diameter of 20-80 nm and a length of 1-5 mm, using ε-Zn(OH)₂ as the precursor. It was found that the pre-ageing of ε-Zn(OH)₂ precursor in NaOH solution at 25 ^oC favored the formation of ZnO nano-whiskers with small diameter owing to the formation of minor amount of ZnO nucleus with a diameter of 10-30 nm on the ε-Zn(OH)₂ surface, which served as the seed for the subsequent growth of 1D ZnO at 80 ^oC. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was detected for the ZnO nano-whiskers with small diameters.

Figure 1 Morphology of ZnO whiskers and XPS spectra of ε-Zn(OH)₂

a: without pre-ageing, b: with pre-ageing

Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51174125 and 51234003).

Correspongding author: [email protected]

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1. Formation and Industrial Application of Dispersive Nano-particles and Whiskers*