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Synthesis of single‐phase ZnAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles via a wet chemical approach and evaluation of crystal structure characteristics
Author(s) -
Ishii Satoshi,
Nakane Takayuki,
Furusawa Takaya,
Naka Takashi
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
crystal research and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.377
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1521-4079
pISSN - 0232-1300
DOI - 10.1002/crat.201500297
Subject(s) - spinel , nanoparticle , impurity , lattice constant , crystal structure , materials science , single crystal , diffraction , chemical engineering , x ray crystallography , phase (matter) , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , nanotechnology , crystallography , organic chemistry , optics , engineering , physics , metallurgy
Single‐phase ZnAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles were hydrothermally synthesized utilizing improvements to the preparation of the precursor materials. This synthesis differs from more general syntheses of ZnAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles in that it minimizes the presence of ZnO impurities. The higher purity of our ZnAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles allowed for more comprehensive X‐ray diffraction analysis as well as more sensitive spectroscopic evaluation. Moreover, pH control of the precursor solution dramatically improved the reproducibility of the synthesis. The lattice constant of the ZnAl 2 O 4 samples synthesized by our technique is different from what is observed in particles fabricated using more common solid state reactions. This difference in lattice constants indicates the occurrence of a site exchange phenomenon between Zn 2+ and Al 3+ and/or oxygen deficiency. This suggests the possibility of tailoring novel functional spinel oxides for a wide array of future applications.