Abstract
ZnO micro/nanocrystals at large scale were synthesized through the thermal evaporation of Al-Zn mixtures under air atmosphere. The effect of synthetic temperature and time on the morphology of the micro/nanocrystals was examined. It was found that the temperature and time affected the morphology of the ZnO crystals. At temperatures below $900^{\circ}C$, no crystals were synthesized. At a temperature of $1000^{\circ}C$, ZnO crystals with a rod shape were synthesized. With an increase in temperature from $1000^{\circ}C$ to $1100^{\circ}C$, the morphology of the crystals changed from rod shape to wire and granular shapes. As the time increased from 2 h to 3 h at $1000^{\circ}C$, tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals started to form. XRD patterns showed that the ZnO crystals had a hexagonal wurtzite structure. EDX analysis revealed that the ZnO crystals had high purity. It is believed that the ZnO nanowires were grown via a vapor-solid mechanism because no catalyst particles were observed at the tips of the micro/nanocrystals in the SEM images.