Organic Template-Free Synthesis of Mesoporous ZnO Microparticles by Sol-Gel Method and Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Treatment

Abstract

Mesoporous zinc oxide microparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel method, followed by hydrothermal treatment at three different temperatures (100°C, 120°C, and 140°C), confirming that the method is fast, simple, reproducible, and ecological. To carry out the synthesis of the samples, zinc acetate was used as a precursor and sodium hydroxide as a precipitating agent. From the results obtained, the sample that shows the highest mesoporosity was the one synthesized at a hydrothermal treatment temperature of 140°C, obtaining an average particle size of 5 μm and a pore diameter of 1.7 nm. The importance of the results obtained was that mesoporous xerogel microparticles were obtained without using any type of organic template.