Effects of surfactant on the morphology of α-Bi2O3 synthesized by the Sol-gel method (original) (raw)

Nano and micromaterial research, with a well-defined size and shape, has attracted attention from researchers in the areas of chemistry, physics, engineering and biomedicine, due to the wide range of possible applications such as: health, environment, catalysis and miniaturization of electronic devices. In this sense, the chemical routes of synthesis, such as Sol-Gel, are more prominent because it allows the production of particulate materials and thin films, with controllable size and morphology. In this work, bismuth oxide microparticles were synthesized by the Sol-Gel method using metallic bismuth (99.999% purity) in acid solution. Initially, bismuth was diluted with nitric acid solution and distilled water. After dilution, citric acid (600 mg) and ethylene glycol were added. The volume of ethylene glycol was varied from 1 to 3.75 mL, in order to study the morphological effects of its concentration. The samples were then subjected to the calcination process at 673 K for 12 hours....