Investigation on structural aspects of ZnO nano-crystal using radio-active ion beam and PAC

Nano-crystalline ZnO has been studied with perturbed angular correlation using 111mCd, implanted at ISOLDE/CERN and X-ray diffraction using Rietveld analysis. The data show a gradual increase in the crystal size and stress for a sample annealed at 600°C, and reaching nearly properties of standard ZnO with tempering at 1000°C. The perturbed angular correlation data show a broad frequency distribution at low annealing temperatures and small particle sizes, whereas at high annealing temperature and larger crystal sizes, results similar to bulk ZnO have been obtained. The ZnO nano-crystalline samples were initially prepared through a wet chemical route, have been examined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and chemical purity has been confirmed with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis as well as Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).