Morphology controlled synthesis of ZnO particles through the oxidation of Al–Zn mixture

ZnO particles with different morphologies were synthesized through a simple oxidation process of Al–Zn mixtures in air. The morphologies significantly depended on the Zn content in Al–Zn mixture and the oxidation time. Rod-based brushes, typical tetrapods, and novel tetrapods with triangular wedges were synthesized with the increase of Zn content in Al–Zn mixture. The morphology was also changed from rod to tetrapod shape with oxidation time. The results indicate that the concentration of Zn and the oxidation time might be responsible for the different morphologies of ZnO particles. XRD spectra showed that the ZnO particles were a hexagonal wurtzite structure.