Fabrication and Characteristics of Villous Zinc Oxalate by using a Sol-Gel and Microbeam-Laser Method

Villous zinc oxalate (ZnC2O4) was successfully prepared from reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and zinc oxide using a twoprecursor sol-gel method, and scanned using a matrix-dotted microbeam laser. Application of the laser caused the synthesized ZnC2O4 to melt and resolidify, forming uniformly spread nanovillous protrusions. The characteristics of the microstructures were examined using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Various ratios of RGO:ZnO were demonstrated to produce villous ZnC2O4; moreover, the structures of -ZnC2O4 and -ZnC2O4 were found to coexist in the sol-gel powders. -ZnC2O4 produces a villous shape because of a minute characteristic that favors the formation of such structures. The carbon from RGO is attracted through impurity sites, resulting in oversaturation with C/Zn at approximately the same ratio as that of RGO and ZnO because of the counter-ion effect between the cation and anion bonds.