Synthesis and Characterization of Luminescent ZnO with Microstructural Control (Phase 3)

This project focuses on the controlled synthesis of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles for applications in photonics and optoelectronic devices, aiming to overcome limitations of materials like GaN due to ZnO's superior properties (3.37 eV band-gap and high exciton binding energy). The main challenge addressed is the precise control over the purity, size, and morphology of the crystals, with a specific focus on obtaining tetrapods (T-ZnO), which are perfect and stable crystals. The methodology employed is vapor phase synthesis, specifically through simple evaporation and direct oxidation of Zn within a tubular electric furnace at temperatures ranging from 900°C to 1100°C. A quartz reactor is designed to control the reaction atmosphere by precisely injecting gases (Argon/Nitrogen as inert and Air/Oxygen as oxidant). The process involves Zn evaporation, followed by nucleation and growth of ZnO upon reaction with injected oxygen. Gas flows will be recorded to thermodynamically explain the process. The synthesized particles will be exhaustively characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, and Cathodoluminescence (CL) and Photoluminescence (PL) analysis at national (ESPE) and international (ASU) institutions to correlate structural and luminescent properties with operational synthesis parameters.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>Synthesize Zinc Oxide (ZnO) particles with controlled luminescent properties, morphology, and size, using the simple evaporation and direct oxidation method of Zn, by precisely controlling the thermodynamic growth conditions.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>New materials and transformation processes