Estudo das propriedades e aplicações do ZnO no contexto de Engenharia de Materiais

Abstract

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is a material that has a great prominence, among the scientific medium, due to its electrical, optical and chemical properties. ZnO is a chemical compound, found naturally in the mineral Zincita. Where Zn is a transition metal and semimetal with the ability to react with both acids and bases. May behave acid and basic oxides is considered an amphoteric. The ZnO has as characteristic an n-type intrinsic semiconductor, which crystallizes in the hexagonal system. It is an excellent semiconductor, as it is photoelectric material of wide band gap (Eg = 3.37 eV). With this, the field of applications in which ZnO can be employed is the most well-known in the sectors of the electronic, pharmaceutical, food and optoelectronic industries. In this paper, it was verified, through a bibliographic review of the properties and applications of ZnO, that this compound has promising applications in thermistors, varistors, lightning rods, protectors against UV radiation and in solar cells. With this, characterization of the compositions, reliability tests, studies on sample preparation methods and element doping for ZnO applications were reported and studied, which verified the use of ZnO in renewable energy applications, varistors, thermistors, lightning arresters and sunscreen, found in the literature.