Facile synthesis and characterization of ZnO octahedral superstructures from solid-state transformation of Zn(ii)–organic coordination polymers

Abstract

Zn(II) infinite coordination polymer (ICP) octahedrons have been prepared via a facile solvothermal method employing a mixed-ligand tuned route. After calcinations of the Zn(II) ICP octahedrons at 550 °C, ZnO octahedral superstructures constructed by ZnO nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 50 nm were obtained. Influential factors such as reaction temperature, reaction time, and reagent dosage on the Zn(II) ICP particles have been systematically investigated. It was found that the reaction time had a significant effect on the morphology of the final product. The formation mechanism for the Zn(II) ICP octahedrons was proposed. The octahedron-shaped ZnO superstructures exhibit strong visible emission centered at 575 nm. Relatively strong visible emission was realized in ZnO with large particle size. The possible mechanism for the strong visible emission was also discussed.