ZnO nanoparticles embedded in UVM-7-like mesoporous silica materials: Synthesis and characterization

• Published in: Physica. E, Low-dimensional systems & nanostructures Low-dimensional systems & nanostructures, 2009-11, Vol.42 (1), p.25-31
• Main Authors: Haskouri, Jamal El, Dallali, Lobna, Fernández, Lorenzo, Garro, Nuría, Jaziri, Sihem, Latorre, Julio, Guillem, Carmen, Beltrán, Aurelio, Beltrán, Daniel, Amorós, Pedro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atrane complexes; Bimodal mesoporous materials; Chemical synthesis methods; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanocrystals and nanoparticles; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials and structures; Physics; Spectroscopic studies; ZnO nanoparticles
• ISSN: 1386-9477; 1873-1759
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physe.2009.08.011

ZnO nanodomains embedded in bimodal mesoporous silica (UVM-7) materials with high Zn content (4≤Si/Zn≤30) have been synthesized by an one-pot surfactant-assisted procedure from a hydro alcoholic medium using a cationic surfactant (CTMABr=cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) as structural directing agent, and starting from molecular atrane complexes of Zn and Si as hydrolytic inorganic precursors. This chemical procedure allows optimizing the dispersion of the ZnO particles in the silica walls. The bimodal mesoporous nature of the final high surface area nano-sized materials is confirmed by XRD, TEM, and N 2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The small intra-particle mesopore system is due to the supramolecular templating effect of the surfactant, while the large pores have their origin in the packing voids generated by aggregation of the primary nanometric mesoporous particles. A limited pore blocking and a high accessibility to the ZnO active nanoparticles have been achieved. The effects induced by the progressive incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles into the mesostructure have been examined, including a careful optical spectroscopic study (PL and UV–visible).