Preparation and Characterization of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Through Solid State Thermal Decomposition of an Aqua Nitrato Copper(II) Complex with a Tridentate Schiff-base Ligand as a New Precursor

Introduction: In this study the synthesis and characterization of copper oxide nanoparticles via solid state thermal decomposition of a recently synthesized aqua nitrato copper(II) complex with a tridentate Schiff-base ligand (1) as a new precursor are reported. Materials & Methods: The copper complexes were obtained by sonochemical and solvothermal process and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder Diffraction (XRD) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The thermal stability of compound (1) was studied by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The amount of initial reagents and the role of reaction time on size and morphology of nanostructure compound (1) were studied. CuO nanoparticles were simply synthesized at 500 oC under air atmosphere. Results & Conclusion: The diameter of CuO nanoparticles was estimated to be about 200 and 30 nm from copper complex precursor obtained by sonochemical and solvothermal methods respectively.