Zinc Oxide is originally a white powder. When heated up, it turns yellow but does not decompose and when it is removed from the heat it gradually goes back to its original white colourThe reason for the yellow colour is that a minute amount of oxyegen evaporates from the lattice (70 ppm) the small number of zinc atoms produce lattice defects that give rise to the colourIn its normal form, zinc oxide is an n type semiconductor, ie conductivity by electrons. This conductivity is thought to be due to a stoichiometric excess of zinc ions which occupy interstitial locations in the crystal lattice. happened due to heating