MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF ZINC-OXIDE ORIGINATING FROM ZINC HYDROXIDECARBONATE

Zinc oxide can be obtained by thermal decomposition of hydrozincite, a topochemical reaction. This work reports the relation between zinc ox ide morphology and the precursor zinc hydroxide carbonate precipitatio n time. The morphological evolution was monitored by SEM, IR and XRD. Zinc oxide obtained from initially precipitated hydrozincite consists of porous spherical aggregates and shows a single Zn-O IR vibrational band. At longer periods of precipitation time the aggregates were tran sformed into spherulitic-shaped zinc oxide particles showing the Zn-O split vibrational band. X-ray patterns show that the hexagonal zinc ox ide phase is substantially increased as a function of hydrozincite pre cipitation time. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.