A facile thermal-treatment route was successfully used to synthesize ZnO nanosheets. Morphological, structural, and optical properties of obtained nanoparticles at different calcination temperatures were studied using various techniques. The FTIR, XRD, EDX, SEM and TEM images confirmed the formation of ZnO nanosheets through calcination in the temperature between 500 to 650°C. The SEM images showed a morphological structure of ZnO nanosheets, which inclined to crumble at higher calcination temperatures. The XRD and FTIR spectra revealed that the samples were amorphous at 30°C but transformed into a crystalline structure during calcination process. The average particle size and degree of crystallinity increased with increasing calcination temperature. The estimated average particle sizes from TEM images were about 23 and 38 nm for the lowest and highest calcination temperature i.e. 500 and 650°C, respectively. The optical properties were determined by UV–Vis reflection spectrophotometer and showed a decrease in the band gap with increasing calcination temperature.

In this research, a thermal treatment method was used to synthesize cadmium oxide nanoparticles. The metal precursor, cadmium nitrate and a capping agent were dissolved in deionized water, which later was dried and crushed into powder. The powder underwent calcination treatment of 500, 550, 600, and 650 °C to crystallize the nanoparticles and to remove organic compounds. The structural studies of CdO nanoparticles have been carried out using EDAX, FTIR, XRD, SEM and TEM. The FTIR and XRD spectra showed that the crystalline structure formation of metal oxide nanoparticles has only occurred after been exposed to calcination. The optical properties which were determined using a UV-vis spectrophotometer showed a decrease in the band gap with increasing calcination temperature. These results prove that the thermal treatment method is a simple technique that can produce pure metal oxide nanoparticles with no other chemicals added.

Type-II self-assembled GaSb/GaAs nanostructures have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and studied by atomic-force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and power-dependent magnetophotoluminescence. Nanostructures on the sample surface are found to be entirely dotlike, while capped nanostructures are predominantly ringlike. Moreover, an in situ anneal process applied after thinly capping the dots is shown to enhance the severity of the rings and relax the strain in the matrix in the proximity of the GaSb, resulting in a change to the spatial configuration of the exciton complexes and their optical properties.

Lead sulphide (PbS) modified with calix[6]arene was synthesised as an alternative and regenerative adsorbent for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye. The prepared calix[6]arene-modified PbS was characterised via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD) was employed to identify the most significant factors, such as the initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, pH, and temperature, and to optimise the effects of the factors on the adsorptive efficiency as its response. The optimised initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, pH, and temperature were 20.00 mg/L initial concentration, 44.00 mg calix[6]arene-modified PbS, pH 6, and a temperature of 31.00 °C. A good correlation between the values and well-fitted model was observed. The adsorption performance was evaluated based on the percentage removal of MB dye from the water system. The adsorption isotherm best fit the Langmuir isotherm model, and the adsorption rate was followed by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, a single layer chemical adsorption with a maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of 5.495 mg/g.