Production of NiO/ZnO Nanocomposite Particles by Sol-Gel Technique

In recent years, the need for new generation and critical materials has brought the nanoscale materials to the center of modern research. In this study, the production of NiO/ZnO nanocomposite particles by sol-gel method was investigated for using in the petrochemical and energy sectors. In the initial solutions having a 0.1 M concentration prepared from the high purity nickel nitrate [Ni(NO3)2.6H2O)] and zinc nitrate [(Zn(NO3)2.6H2O] salts in mol (50:50)% and (30:70)%, NiO/ZnO nanocomposite particles were produced by the calcination process (700 °C, 2 hours) in the final step of the production process, which started with the use of different precipitation reagents (1 M NaOH; NH4OH) and chelating agent (0.1 M C6H8O7). Within the scope of structural characterization studies of NiO/ZnO nanocomposite particles: phase analysis by X-ray diffractometry (Rigaku, XRD); the size and morphology and to determine the qualitative proportions of the contained elements of the particles with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (Jeol FEG SEM-EDS); and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (Bruker/Alpha-T) to determine the bonds that were present, was used. In the sol-gel method, the effect of the stoichiometry of the prepared starting solution and the precipitation reagent used in the production step on NiO/ZnO nanocomposite particle production were investigated