Co-templating synthesis of highly dispersed 1D ZnO nanostructures in amorphous SiO2 under hydrothermal condition

One-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructures were grown in amorphous SiO2 matrix by a co-templating method under hydrothermal condition. Using ethylenediamine (EDA) groups grafted mesoporous silica MCM-41 as a co-template, the growth of ID ZnO nanostructures was oriented by soft EDA groups and confined inside the hard mesochannels of MCM-41. The microstructure and morphology of the ID-ZnO-nanostructures/SiO2 composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). All these results indicate that the I D ZnO nanostructures were synthesized and highly dispersed in the amorphous SiO2 matrix. Blue-shifted exciton absorption was observed from the co-templating synthesized sample. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.