Spectrally selective zinc oxide particles and methods of making thereof

Abstract

Disclosed are methods of forming a method for forming spectrally selective nanoparticles, the method comprising: heating a growth solution comprising a zinc salt precursor, zinc oxide seed particles, and one or more dopants in a non-pressurized hydrothermal reactor to a first temperature under agitative conditions for a reaction period; cooling the reactor to a second temperature less than the first temperature for a cooling period to form a precipitate of recrystallized doped zinc oxide nanoparticles dispersed in a suspension; and separating and collecting the recrystallized nanoparticles from the suspension, wherein the collected nanoparticles exhibit a spectral selectivity in the atmospheric window; and, also disclosed herein are comprising a population of polycrystalline zinc oxide nanoparticles doped with one or more dopants, wherein the population of nanoparticles is spectrally selective in the atmospheric window.