A positron annihilation study of ZnO prepared by thermal oxidation at different temperatures

Abstract

ZnO particles were prepared from Zn nanoparticles by thermal oxidation in air, over a temperature range of 500 to 900 °C. The microstructure of ZnO was investigated by SEM and XRD, showing that the thermal oxidation temperature affected the particle growth mechanism, morphology, and microstructure. Positron annihilation spectroscopy indicated that the thermal oxidation process has an important influence on the zinc-related vacancies and their clusters in the ZnO particles.