© November 2021| IJIRT | Volume 8 Issue 6 | ISSN: 2349-6002
IJIRT 153331 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN TECHNOLOGY 436
Synthesis and Characterization of Magnesium Oxide
(MgO) Nanoparticles by Co-precipitation Method
Faizal Mirza
1
, Harshidaben Makwana
2
1
Department of Physics, Saurashtra University, Rajkot-360005
2
B.V. Shah (Vadi Vihar) Science College, C. U .Shah, University, Wadhwan, Surendranagar, Gujarat-
363030
Abstract - Metals are able to form a large number of
oxides. These metal oxides play an important role in
many areas of chemistry, physics and material science.
An important metal oxide known as magnesium oxide
(MgO) having good reactivity is widely used in
producing electronics, catalyst, ceramics, oil,
paint etc. Magnesium oxide Nano-particle is non-toxic
and need a small amount, so it is suitable for the
development of flame-retardant fiber additives. In
addition, nano magnesium oxide added in fuel can inhibit
corrosion. In this communication Magnesium oxide
nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by co-
precipitation technique at room temperature using
magnesium nitrate and sodium hydroxide as a
precursor. The morphological investigation of MgO
nanoparticles was done by various analytical techniques
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM-EDX) for
morphological studies. X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
indicates the crystallinity and crystal size of MgO
nanoparticle. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy is used for analysing the functional groups
of the sample.
Index Terms - MgO, Nano-particle, Spectroscopy, X-ray
Diffraction (XRD)
INTRODUCTION
Nano size materials have different properties
compared with bulk materials. Nanoparticles are
particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size and it
are having attracted a great attention in recent years
because of their unique electronic, physical, magnetic,
chemical and optical properties compare with bulk
materials [1, 2]. Most of the researchers are working
with metal oxide nanoparticles because of their unique
properties such as hydrophobic, photo catalytic,
stability and etc. Hence, they are used in many
applications named as coatings, catalysts, anti-
bacterial, medical sciences, sensors, semiconductors,
capacitors and batteries [3]. In past decade, the unique
properties of nanomaterials have created interest to the
researchers to develop simpler and inexpensive
techniques to synthesis nanostructures for
technologically importance. Metal oxides
nanomaterial with high surface area and porosity have
attracted considerable interest for scientific research
due to their potential application such as functional
components for nano electronics, optoelectronics and
sensing devices.[4] Magnesium oxide is an inorganic
compound having thermal stability, high surface
reactivity, very good heat resistance, high chemical
and alkali resistance [5, 6]. Magnesium is II A group
element with atomic number 12 and Oxygen is VIA
group element with atomic number 8. The compound
MgO is having boiling and melting points as 3600ºC
and 2852ºC [7].
Magnesium oxide, often called periclase [8] (from
Greek word periklao, peri “around”, klao “to cut”), is
white hygroscopic solid mineral. Its empirical formula
is MgO and its lattice consist of Mg
2+
ions and O
2-
ions, together bonded by ionic bond (Figure 1).
Magnesium oxide is generally produced by the
calcination of magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH) 2 or
magnesium carbonate MgCO3. Thermal treatment,
used when calcination process occurs, affects the
surface area and pore size and also the final reactivity
of formed magnesium oxide. Used temperature can be
divided into three groups, 700 ˚C to 1000 ˚C, where
caustic calcined magnesium oxide is formed, 1000 ˚C
to 1500 ˚C, where lower chemical activity magnesium
oxide is formed and calcination over 1500 _C, where
reduced chemical activity type of refractory
magnesium oxid is formed, that is mostly used for
electrical and refractory applications [9].