INFLUENCE OF THE POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL MOLECULAR MASS ON THERMAL TRANSITIONS OF NANOSIZED COPPER OXIDE

Abstract

In this work, samples of nanosized copper oxide stabilized with polyethylene glycol of various grades with molecular weights from 200 to 6000 Da were obtained. The crystal structure of the samples was investigated by X-ray diffractometry. As a result of the XRD analysis, it was found that the samples have a monoclinic crystal lattice with space group C2/c. The effect of the molecular weight of the polymer on the size of nanoparticles was studied by the photon correlation spectroscopy method. Analysis of the results showed the presence of one fraction of particles in all samples, the size distribution was monomodal. It was found that the molecular weight of polyethylene glycol has an effect on the CuO particle size in colloidal solutions, while the phase composition and crystallite size remain unchanged. The average hydrodynamic radius of CuO particles in the obtained samples was about 140±40 nm. The smallest hydrodynamic radius of 70±15 nm was observed in a sample of nanosized copper oxide stabilized with polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 6000 Da. The effect of stabilizers with different molecular weights on the phase transitions of samples during heat treatment was investigated by the synchronous thermal analysis. As a result of thermal analysis, it was found that the optimum temperature for calcining nanosized CuO powders was 500°C.

Keywords

• copper oxide (ii)
• polyethylene glycol
• synchronous thermal analysis
• xrd
• photon correlation spectroscopy