Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials

ZnO is a typical II-IV semiconductor exhibiting excellent electrical, optical and chemical properties with band gap energy (EG) of 3.1-3.4 eV. It has a very large excitation binding energy of 60 meV at room temperature, which is very close to that of TiO2. It is considered to be more suitable for photocatalysis applications due to its high photosensitivity, and chemical stability. Recently, special interest has been shown in its morphology as ZnO can form various nanostructures suitable for a variety of applications in UV-shielding materials, gas sensors, biosensors, semiconductors, piezoelectric devices, field emissions displays, photocatalytic degradations of pollutants and antimicrobial treatments.