Green synthesis of ZnO2 nanoparticles from hydrozincite and hydrogen peroxide at room temperature

A green method based on the reaction between hydrozincite (Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 ) powder and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 , 30 wt.%) in aqueous solution at room temperature was developed for the synthesis of ZnO 2 nanoparticles. Results from X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman demonstrated that the resultant products were pure cubic phase ZnO 2 nanoparticles, whose sizes were in the range of 3.1–4.2 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that between 180 and 350 °C, the as-synthesized ZnO 2 nanoparticles had a weight loss of about 16.7%, consistent with the theoretical amount (16.4%) of the O 2 released from ZnO 2 decomposition (ZnO 2 = ZnO + 1/2O 2 ). The present method was green, simple and cost-effective, which should be suitable for large-scale production of multifunctional ZnO 2 nanoparticles.