Zinc
oxideis an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO.
ZnO is a white powder that is insoluble in water, which is widely
used as an additive in numerous materials and products including
plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, lubricants,[2] paints,
ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, foods (source of Zn
nutrient), batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, and first aid
tapes. It occurs naturally as the mineral zincite but most zinc
oxide is produced synthetically.[3] In materials
science, ZnO is a wide-bandgap semiconductor of the II-VI
semiconductor group (since oxygen was classed as an element of VIA
group (the 6th main group, now referred to as *6th) of the periodic
table and zinc, a transition metal, as a member of the IIB (2nd B),
now *2th, group). The native doping of the semiconductor (causes
are as yet unknown) is n-type. This semiconductor has several
favorable properties, including good transparency, high electron
mobility, wide bandgap, and strong room-temperature luminescence.
Those properties are used in emerging applications for transparent
electrodes in liquid crystal displays, in energy-saving or
heat-protecting windows, and in electronics as thin-film
transistors and light-emitting diodes.
