Preparation of magnesium oxide nanoparticles and thin films

Nano magnesium oxide is a new type of high functional fine inorganic material, with special properties of light, heat, electricity, mechanics and chemistry different from the native material, which has wide application in electronic, catalytic, ceramics and other fields. It is also expected to be developed as a cutting-edge material under high temperature, high corrosive gas and other harsh conditions; it can also be used to make sensing materials, radar wave materials, antibacterial agents, etc.. Because of its wide range of applications, it is attracting more and more attention.

In this paper, well-crystallized magnesium oxide nanoparticles were produced by sol-gel method using magnesium nitrate and stearic acid as raw materials at a lower temperature. The structure and surface morphology of magnesium oxide nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier infrared absorption (FTIR), X-ray electron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

The results showed that the well-crystallized magnesium oxide with ellipsoidal shape and particle size around 18 nm could be obtained after the heat treatment at 400 °C. The size of the magnesium oxide nanoparticles increased with the increase of the heat treatment temperature, indicating that the crystallization quality was improved. The synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles was carried out by homogeneous precipitation method with polyethylene glycol as dispersant and magnesium nitrate as reaction precursor, and the XRD, FTIR, SEM and XPS tests showed that the prepared magnesium oxide was cubic crystalline with an average particle size of 14 nm, and the particles were flocculated together, mainly due to the collision of small grains in the heat treatment process and finally nucleated.