The nanocrystalline CuO powders were prepared by precipitation method using Cu(NO$_{3})_{2}$ as copper raw material, water and ethanol as dispersants, and NaOH and ammonia solution as precipitates. The structure, particle size and morphology of resulting CuO powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The mechanism of CuO formation was discussed.

Synthesis of flower-shaped ZnO nanostructures composed of ZnO nanosticks was achieved by the solution process using zinc acetate dihydrate, sodium hydroxide and polyethylene glycol-20000 (PEG-20000) at 180°C for 4 h. The diameter of individual nanosticks was about 100 nm. Detailed structure characterizations demonstrate that the synthesized products are wurtzite hexagonal phase, grown along the [001] direction. The infrared (IR) spectrum shows the standard peak of zinc oxide at 571 cm^-1. Raman scattering exhibits a sharp and strong 𝐸₂ mode at 441 cm^-1 which further confirms the good crystal and wurtzite hexagonal phase of the grown nanostructures.