Effect of Acetate Ion on the Morphology of Zinc Oxide Obtained from Layered Zinc Hydroxide Chloride

Abstract

A two-step aging process was investigated in which the first step aging was carried out in zinc acetate aqueous solution and the second step in deionized water, using layered zinc hydroxide, ZHC, as a precursor with chloride ions in the interlayer. When the first step of aging was performed using a zinc acetate solution, hexagonal plate-shaped ZnO seed crystals with and without chipped corners were obtained, and at the same time, chloride ions incorporated in the interlayer of ZHC were exchanged with acetate ions to form ZHA. When the obtained mixture of ZnO seed crystals and ZHA was aged again in ion-exchanged water, coin-shaped or hexagonal plate-shaped ZnO particles with a particle diameter of about 1 um were obtained in a single phase. When the amount of zinc acetate solution used in the first step aging was small, the ion exchange of chloride ions to acetate ions between the layers of ZHC was insufficient and so ZHC remained, thus resulting in columnar ZnO with small particle size along with plate-like ZnO during the second step aging.