Sonochemical Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using an Ultrasonic Homogenizer

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using a commercial ultrasonic homogenizer in a sonochemical reaction between 0.05 M zinc nitrate and hexamethylenetetramine. The solutions in glass vessels of varying shapes i.e. cube, cylinder and sphere were sonicated with a 45 W 20 kHz ultrasonic pulse for 60 min under ambient conditions. The crystalline ZnO phase was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with average particle diameters around 70 nm from the three different vessels. These ZnO particles were smaller than those previously synthesized in ultrasonic baths and sonoreactors.

Keywords:

• Zinc oxide
• sonochemistry
• X-ray diffraction
• SEM

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Walailak University (Grant No. WU55302). The authors would like to thank Dr. Nantakan Muensit and the Scientific Equipment Center of Prince of Songkla University for allowing the use of instruments.