New insights into crystallite size and cell parameters correlation for ZnO nanoparticles obtained from polyol-mediated synthesis.

ZnO nanocrystals were prepared from polyol-mediated synthesis. Two key parameters, that is, the zinc precursor concentration and the alcohol mixture chosen as synthesis medium, were varied. The increase of the precursor concentration and the decrease of the permittivity of the alcohol mixture were shown to favor the crystallite growth, leading to crystallite sizes ranging from 5 to 35 nm. The aggregation behavior of the nanocrystal units to form or not polycrystalline spheres, depending on the van der Walls interaction density, was shown and explained. Every sample was accurately characterized by X-ray diffraction; cell parameters were extracted from full pattern matching refinements. A clear correlation between crystallite size and cell parameters, that is, an asymptotic decrease of a and c cell parameters versus the crystallite size, was established. A simple model was also successfully developed to interpret the as-established correlation.