Synthesis of high surface area and plate-like Magnesium Oxide nanoparticles by pH-controlled precipitation method

Synthesized magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles by a simple pH-controlled precipitation method using Mg (SO4)(2) as a precursor. The XRD spectra of MgO recorded at room temperature showed FCC structure. Crystallite size for synthesized MgO was calculated using Scherrer and Williamson-Hall method. The Rietveld refinement was carried out to find cell dimensions, micro-strain, and Mg2+ vacancies. The Rietveld refinement showed a good fit with R-factors. SEM images show agglomerated plate-like morphology. The surface area data were evaluated by Brunner-Emmet-Teller method and found to be 246.95 g/m(2) with an average pore diameter of 6.721 nm. Smaller size and high surface area of MgO contributed to the observed band gap value of 5.8 eV. These nanoparticles with small size and high surface area have potential applications as catalysts and in the next generation biosensor applications.