Electrosynthesis of ZnO nanomaterials in aqueous medium with CTAB cationic stabilizer

ZnO nanoparticles were prepared with a green, cheap, and easy aqueous electrochemical process. The electrolyte was made of a stabilizing cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) dissolved in NaHCO₃ at pH = 8. The electrosynthesis was carried out galvanostatically at 10 mA/cm², at room temperature or at 80 °C for 1 h. Gel-like pristine colloids, made of mixed Zn carbonates and hydroxides, underwent post-synthesis thermal treatments to allow a compete conversion to ZnO. Calcination was carried out at 300 or 600 °C for 1 h. All nanomaterials were characterized at each step of their production by transmission electron microscopy, UV–Vis, infrared (FT–IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Electrochemical synthesis at 80 °C followed by calcination at 300 °C for 1 h allowed preparing ZnO submicron structures with good morphology and stoichiometry.