Role of pH in the hydrothermal synthesis of phase pure alpha Bi2O3 nanoparticles and its structural characterization

Phase pure bismite nanoparticles were successfully prepared by means of hydrothermal method by varying the precursor solution pH from 10 to 13. The as-prepared nanoparticles were characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).  The effects of pH on the structural properties of these nanoparticles were corroborated using XRD and Raman spectrum.  From the XRD pattern it is found that all the samples are polycrystalline in nature and the Raman spectra are used to confirm the phase transformation of the Bi2O3 nanoparticles.  At the low pH value, the SEM image reveals that as-prepared samples are homogeneous with particle size of ~ 25 nm and with the increase in the pH value spherical particle forms uniform blocks like morphology for both the samples prepared at the pH 12 and 13. Copyright © 2017 VBRI Press.