Highly luminescent silica-coated ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in an aqueous medium

Highly luminescent silica-coated ZnO nanoparticles dispersed in an aqueous medium were synthesized using the sol–gel process. The samples prepared at various temperatures exhibited an emission peak at around 480 nm (blue color) and a quantum efficiency of 60% at maximum by the quantum confinement effect of ZnO nanoparticles, with diameters ranging from 3.1 to 3.5 nm, under ultraviolet excitation. No degradation of the quantum efficiencies and no peak shifting in the emission spectra were observed for 7 days following the preparation, which indicated no growth of ZnO nanoparticles in the aqueous medium.