Water/n-heptane interface as a viable platform for the self-assembly of ZnO nanospheres to nanorods

Abstract

The water/n-heptane interface has been exploited as a viable and selective platform for the transformation of quasi-spherical ZnO nanoparticles to nanorods, using an unconventional low precursor salt concentration under facile and benign reaction conditions. The transformation of nanospheres to nanorods has been characterised by absorption, fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The mechanism of transformation to nanorods from the ultrasmall ZnO particles in the restricted environment provided by the liquid–liquid interface has been elucidated.