Stable, OH free zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method by varying the
growth temperature and concentration of the precursors. The formation of ZnO nanoparticles were confirmed by x-ray
diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. The
average particle size have been found to be about 7-24 nm and the compositional analysis is done with inductively
coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) results shows that the
band gap of ZnO nanoparticles is blue shifted with decrease in particle size. Photoluminescence properties of ZnO
nanoparticles at room temperature were studied and the green photoluminescent emission from ZnO nanoparticles can
originate from the oxygen vacancy or ZnO interstitial related defects.