Decorating graphene sheets with ZnO hollow microspheres using solvothermal method

Graphene-ZnO microspheres composites were prepared through a facile solvothermal synthesis route at 150 °C for 24 h. The morphological structures of the samples were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis revealed that homogeneous microspheres assembling by hexagonal phase wurtzite ZnO nanoparticles were decorated on the graphene sheets via graphene oxide (GO) functional groups. The dimension of the ZnO nanoparticles is approximately 30 run and the microspheres are hollow. A possible growth mechanism for the formation of ZnO hollow microspheres anchored on the graphene sheets has been proposed. The unique structure of the graphene-ZnO hollow microspheres (G-ZnO(HMs)) composites could have applications in electronics, photonics and medicine.