This paper presents the characterization results of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles prepared by mechanochemical processing using different moles of diluents. ZnO nanoparticles of different crystallite size were synthesized by milling the precursor powders for 5 hours in a high energy ball mill with Zirconia media. NaCl was added as process control agent (PCA) to control the reaction kinetics, as final particle size of nanoZnO is influenced by the reaction rate. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) data was used to compute and analyze the crystallite size of nanoparticles and also to analyze the progress of reaction during milling process. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope was employed to analyze the particle morphology and size distribution of ZnO nanoparticles. Ultraviolet Visible (Uv-Vis) spectroscope was employed to analyze the optical absorption of ZnO nanoparticles. Tauc plots were used to determine the energy gap of the ZnO nanoparticles. Crystallite size values of ZnO nanoparticles are seen to be influenced by the amount of PCA and heat treatment. ZnO nanoparticles with a range of Eg (3.1 to 3.14 eV) were obtained depending on process parameters and an inverse relationship was observed between the crystallite size and the energy gap of the ZnO nanoparticles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.