Effect of CTAB concentration on the properties of ZnO nanoparticles produced by laser ablation method in CTAB solution

•ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by pulse laser ablation method in CTAB.•The effects of CTAB concentration on size and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles were investigated.•The size of produced nanoparticles becomes larger with the increasing of CTAB concentration. ZnO nanoparticles were produced by pulsed laser ablation of a high purity (99.99%) zinc metal target in different concentration of CTAB solution. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at wavelengths of 1064 nm with pulse width of 7 ns and 10 Hz repetition rate was employed to irradiate the Zn target in CTAB. Produced nanoparticles were characterized using UV–Visible NIR spectrum, X-ray diffraction pattern, SEM and TEM images, DLS measurement and photoluminescence spectrum. Results indicate that higher concentrations of CTAB enhanced the degree of crystallinity in ZnO nanoparticles and diminished the excitonic absorbance of the species. The size of produced nanoparticles also becomes larger with the increasing of CTAB concentration. The emission peaks increased with the increasing of CTAB concentration. All samples exhibited emission peaks in violet region centered on around 430 nm (2.88 eV) and two other defect emission peaks are seen at 487 nm (2.54 eV) and 519 nm (2.38 eV) located in green region. It is indicated that the violet emission could be attributed to interstitial zinc in ZnO nanoparticles.