Synthesis & characterization of silica coated and functionalized silica coated zinc oxide nanomaterials

•ZnO nanoparticles are dispersed into the silica microspheres.•The crystallite size of ZnO NPs before and after silica coating remains unchanged.•Amine and thiol functional groups are covalently attached to the mesosilica shells.

Silica or meso silica or silica-meso silica coated zinc oxide microspheres were prepared based on base hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in the presence of CTAB. Functionalization with amine or thiol organofunctional groups were conducted onto pure zinc oxide, silica, meso silica or silica-meso silica coated zinc oxide microsphere. The silica coated ZnO composites and their amine or thiol functionalized materials have been characterized by modern techniques, TEM, XRD, TGA, 13C NMR, FTIR, and UV/VIS spectroscopy. TEM analysis showed that the ZnO nanoparticles were encapsulated and dispersed into the silica or meso silica microspheres. XRD analysis indicated that the size of ZnO nanoparticles before and after coating with silica has been maintained almost unchanged. CP/MAS 13C NMR and FTIR spectra indicated that the coated meso silica zinc oxide materials have been successfully grafted by amine and thiol organofunctional groups.

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