Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO Nanoparticles via Thermal Decomposition of Two Zinc(II) Supramolecular Compounds

A new nano-sized Zn(II) complex, [Zn(5,5′-dtbu-2,2′-bipy)Cl2] n (1) was synthesized and its structure determined by X-ray crystallography. The new nano-sized complex was prepared at oleic acid as a surfactant at 280 °C and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, elemental analyses and IR spectroscopy. The ZnO nano-particles were synthesized from thermolysis of nano-compound 1 at 600 °C and similar compound, [Zn(5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipy)Cl2] n (2), at two different methods. SEM images show the average size of ZnO nano-particles are 78 and 50 nm for the compounds 1 and 2, respectively.