Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO Nanorods Based on a New Gel Pyrolysis Method

ZnO nanorods were fabricated by a template-free gel pyrrolysis method based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymeric network. In the present method, zinc salt precursor is trapped in the homogenized gel network to control the mechanism and kinetics of zinc salt calcinations process. By controlling the gel structure and gel pyrrolysis rate, zinc salt precursor can be calcinated to zinc oxide nanorods. The morphology and particle size of the synthesized sample depend on some parameters including amount of zinc salt and PVA in the initial solution, type and composition of the solvent, type and amount of the additives, solution pH, pyrrolysis temperature, and the time of pyrrolysis, which were optimized by the “one at a time” method. The prepared zinc oxide nanorods were carefully characterized using SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, and UV-visible spectrophotometer. The obtained result showed that the present method can be used to synthesize pure and uniform zinc oxide nanorods with energy band gap 3.31 eV, effective surface area of 19 m2·g−1, average diameters of 60 nm, and length of 1000 nm