Electrochemical Synthesis of Zinc Oxide in the Presence of Surfactant FK 06213

In this study investigated the electrochemical synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using the surfactant FK 06213. This substance is a non-ionic surfactant from the group of alcohol ethoxylates. FK 06213 is a yellow liquid with a characteristic odor, with a pH value at 20 °C of 7. The density at 20 °C is 0.95 g/cm³. The class of viscosity or consistency is kinematic at 40 °C: 60 mm²/s. The synthesis was conducted through galvanostatic electrolysis, where various parameter is surfactant concentration. Other parameters of electrolysis as temperature, duration, electrolyte concentration and current density were the same in all experiments. A total of 10 experiments were conducted. The presence of FK 06213 significantly impacted on the morphology and size distribution of ZnO particles, resulting in the formation of a white precipitate. Electrochemical analysis confirmed the oxidation of zinc at the anode and hydrogen evolution at the cathode, leading to the precipitation of ZnO. All obtained powders were studied using X-ray phase and structural analysis methods. The presence of other components was not established. According to the analysis results, the crystalline structure of the obtained samples belongs to the hexagonal system (space group P63mc), in which zinc atoms have a tetrahedral coordination with oxygen atoms. The average particle thickness varies from 22.4 to 32.4 nm. For concentrations of 0.2 and 0.5 g/L, the thickness values are the smallest – 22.4 and 23.2 nm, respectively. The average particle length ranges from 196 to 444 nm, while the width ranges from 62 to 184 nm. The unfilled octahedral voids are a significant factor that can be utilized for adding elements with larger atomic radii as alloying components to improve material properties. The non-centrosymmetry of this structure is an important argument in predicting the nonlinear optical properties of the obtained material.