Nanostructures: Synthesis of Small Hollow ZnO Nanospheres from the Gas Phase (Part. Part. Syst. Charact. 5/2013)

The hollow nanospheres were obtained by chemical vapor synthesis from diethylzinc as described by Markus Winterer and co-workers on page 434. The color coded TEM image displays hollow nanospheres of about 50 nm in diameter consisting of shells of polycrystalline ZnO with a thickness of 20 nm consistent with the column length obtained from Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data. Experiments are consistent with a Kirkendall formation mechanism and metallic zinc nanoparticles as intermediate.