Effect of type and loading of surfactant on ultrasound-assisted synthesis of CaZn2(PO4)2 nanoparticles by chemical precipitation

•Calcium zinc phosphate nanoparticles were synthesized by an ultrasound assisted method.•Effect of types of surfactants on particle size of calcium zinc phosphate nanoparticles studied.•Ultrasound causes a super saturation of Ca2+ ions leading to a rapid nucleation.•The application of ultrasound improves the solute transfer rate.

In the present work, calcium zinc phosphate nanoparticles were synthesized from phosphoric acid by an ultrasound assisted precipitation method using zinc oxide (ZnO) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). The demonstration of the controlling of particle size of calcium zinc phosphate nanoparticles by the concentration of different types of the surfactants has been carried out. The application of ultrasound during the synthesis causes a supersaturation of Ca2+ ions in the synthesis leading to a rapid nucleation of calcium zinc phosphate nanoparticles and improves the solute transfer rate. The particle size of calcium zinc phosphate nanoparticles is significantly affected by anionic (sodium dedocyl sulfate) and cationic (CTAB) type surfactant compared to non-ionic (Span 80) surfactant. The results are well supported by employing the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and particle size distribution (PSD) analysis.