Size Adjustment of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures by Ultrasmall TiO 2 Nanoparticles

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The interaction of positively charged ZnO nanorods ( nr -ZnO) with negatively charged ultrasmall amorphous titanium dioxide ( am -TiO 2 ) nanoparticles (NPs) induced a decrease in the nr -ZnO particle size while forming nanostructured core@shell x ZT materials (Zn/Ti molar ratios of 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1). Such an unexpected outcome was assigned to the high affinity and Zn(II) ion adsorption capacity of am -TiO 2 NP, as confirmed by the amount of Zn(II) ion in equilibrium in solution with am -TiO 2 determined by ICP-OES and the respective adsorption isotherm profile. The changes in size, morphology, and crystallinity compared to pure nr -ZnO were monitored by FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), suggesting a promising strategy to explore size-dependent nanoscale phenomena in ZnO-based nanomaterials.