Fabrication and characterization of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle by sol-gel method

Currently, nanomaterial is an interestingfield of study. This is due to its chemical and physical properties that are superior to that of large-sized materials. One nanomaterial widely studied is zinc oxide (ZnO). In this study, a synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles made by Sol-Gel method was conducted. The process parameters used are variations in pH, in increasing order, of 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; and 12. There are two principal reactions to produce a compound oxide, namely hydrolysis and condensation. NaOH is an agent for the hydrolysis of (CH3COO)2 Zn resultingin Zn (OH)2. Subsequently, condensation produces ZnO. Calcination was carried out at a temperature of 80°C for 1 hour. The ccharacterization of the samples showed that the condition of pH 12 produced the best sample with a size of 73.8 nm and ZnO percentage of 100%. Although pH 7 produced a particle size of 1.3 nm, the percentage of ZnO formed was only 42.9%. The calcination process was performed to remove CH3COONa. However, the process can lead to aggregation of ZnO particles to each other, which increases the particle size.