Phenoxo bridged dinuclear Zn(II) Schiff base complex as new precursor for preparation zinc oxide nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and photoluminescence studies

•A novel nano-scale Zn(II) complex was synthesized by solvothermal method.•Chemical structure of the nanostructures was characterized as well as bulk complex.•The photoluminescence property of the complex was investigated at room temperature.•The thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis were carried out.•Thermal decomposition of the nanostructures was prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles of a novel Zn(II) Schiff base complex, [Zn(HL)NO3]2 (1), (H2L = 2-[(2-hydroxy-propylimino) methyl] phenol), was synthesized by using solvothermal method. Shape, morphology and chemical structure of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectoscopy (FT-IR) and UV–vis spectroscopy. Structural determination of compound 1 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The results were revealed that the zinc complex is a centrosymmetric dimer in which deprotonated phenolates bridge the two five-coordinate metal atoms and link the two halves of the dimer. The thermal stability of compound 1 was analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The effect of the initial substrates concentration and reaction time on size and morphology of compound 1 nanostructure was investigated as well. Furthermore, the luminescent properties of the complex 1 were examined. ZnO nanoparticles with diameter between 15 and 20 nm were simply synthesized by solid-state transformation of compound 1 at 700 °C.

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