Growth kinetics and modeling of znO nanoparticles

As part of Flinders University's undergraduate degree specializing in nanotechnology, a laboratory experiment was incorporated into the third-year laboratory program for nanotechnology, focusing primarily on relevant concepts such as growth kinetics and measurement of the size of nanoparticles. Students measured the absorbance of ZnO colloids over time and determined the band gap energy. From this data, they calculated the diffusion coefficient of the particles in ethanol using both the Ostwald model and Stokes-Einstein equation. The laboratory was extended by applying a general model for absorption by small particles. The student response to the experiment was encouraging. Their ability to link theory and experiment was developed using the modeling section and students became more aware of the parameters affecting absorption in nanoparticle suspensions. The use of concepts and constants from solid-state theory allowed students to make links between the physics and the chemistry and realize the value of each approach.