Why is industrial zinc oxide white, but bio-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles are gray or dust gray?
Zinc oxide is a white powder.
Industrial zinc oxide is white because it is composed of larger particles that are not small enough to scatter visible light. Bio-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles are gray or dust gray because they are composed of much smaller particles that are small enough to scatter visible light, resulting in a gray or dust gray color.
Hai RM
No, zinc oxide nanoparticles can be a variety of colors depending on the size and shape of the particles. The color of the particles is determined by the way the particles interact with light, and the size and shape of the particles affects how the light is scattered. Therefore, zinc oxide nanoparticles can be gray, but they can also be other colors depending on the size and shape of the particles.
TGA analysis shows that there is less than one percent of carbon in these zinc oxide nanoparticles
In the following article, a method for synthesizing zinc oxide nanoparticles is presented without using any organic chemical, but the color of these nanoparticles is reported to be dusty gray!
Lv, Y., Yu, L., Li, C. et al. ZnO nanopowders and their excellent solar light/UV photocatalytic activity on degradation of dye in wastewater. Sci. China Chem. 59, 142–149 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-015-5438-2
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