Synthesis of Carbon-Coated ZnO Composite and Varistor Properties Study

In this article, monodisperse ZnO composite nanoparticles were successfully prepared by sol–gel mixed precursor method. Subsequently, carbon as the shell was homogeneously coated on the surface of the ZnO composite nanoparticles via a simple adsorption and calcination process. Microstructural studies of the as-obtained powders were carried out using the techniques of the x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the pink ZnO composite powders were fully coated by carbon. Based on the results, the effect of glucose content on the microstructure of the synthesized composites and the electrical properties of the ZnO varistors sintered in air at 1150°C for 2 h were also fully studied. As the amount of glucose increased, the thickness of carbon can be increased from 2.5 nm to 5 nm. In particular, the ZnO varistor fabricated with the appropriate thickness of the carbon coating (5 nm) leads to the superior electrical performance, with present high breakdown voltage (Vb = 420 V/mm) and excellent nonlinear coefficient (α = 61.7), compared with the varistors obtained without carbon coating.