Synthesis and characterization of ZnO tetrapods for optical and antibacterial applications

ZnO tetrapods have been grown by sublimation process employing thermal evaporation at 950 °C on quartz substrate. The grown ZnO tetrapods exhibited noteworthy microstructure, phase formation, emission bands and antibacterial performance. A detailed micro- and nano- analysis supported with analytical measurements elucidated the faceted tetrapod growth with hexagonal wurzite crystal structure of ZnO. Each arm of the tetrapod revealed a facetted hexagonal cross-section with uniform length and diameter. The photolumiscence spectra showed engrossing optical properties with pre-dominant green emission completely overwhelming the near band edge (NBE) UV peak. These fascinating tetrapod objects responded well for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.