Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO Nanoparticles by a Novel Sol-Gel Route under Ultrasonic Conditions

Great interest in metallic oxide has emerged because of the possibility of modelling the properties of these materials for different applications such as catalysis or sensors ([1]). In this work, CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic condition using triethanolamine (TEA) as an emulsifying surfactant and metal nitrate precursors ([2]). Fine powders were obtained when the pH of the sols were increased to 9 using NaOH. Particle size of the oxide materials were in the range of 3-4 nm, 40-50 x 100-150 nm (diameter x length) and 100-200 am for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO, respectively. The molar ratio of TEA to metal nitrate precursors was 2:3. The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed by UV-VIS, FTIR, EDX and FESEM. TEM micrographs of these particles were obtained to elucidate the morphology of the nanoparticles. Experimental result shows the band gap energies (E-g) for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO were found to be 2.71, 3.35 and 2.82 eV, respectively.