TW201821367A - Method of preparing metal oxide nanoparticles - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of preparing metal oxide nanoparticles is disclosed. The method includes the following steps of: metal salts and ethanolamine compounds having one or more methyl groups dissolved in a first organic solvent so as to form a metal ion chelating solution via a metal chelation effect; preparing an ethanol solution with the tetramethylammonium hydroxide having a predetermined concentration; with a preset speed, adding the ethanol solution with tetramethylammonium hydroxide to the chelating metal ion solution at a predetermined speed so as to produce a plurality of metal oxide nanoparticles by a condensation reaction; and the condensate solution added to the second organic solvent slowly to quench the reaction. The metal oxide nanoparticles with smaller sizes and higher activity can be obtained. In addition, the yield can be increased, and thus the cost could be lowered. The method can be widely applied to photoelectric products.

Description

Method for preparing metal oxide nano particles

The invention relates to a method for preparing a metal oxide nano particle, in particular to a method for preparing a metal oxide nano particle having a very small particle size.

The current aqueous phase chemical synthesis method of metal oxide nano particles mainly uses metal alkoxide as a precursor, the precursor is dissolved in an organic solvent, and after hydrolysis, an appropriate amount of alkaline solution can be added to the room temperature. The condensation reaction takes place to form nanoparticles. For example, the method for synthesizing zinc oxide nanoparticles is as follows: preparing a precursor containing zinc acetate dehydrate or zinc nitrate, and dissolving the precursor in methanol, ethanol, or dimethyl hydrazine ( An organic solvent such as dimethyl sulfoxide or DMSO is added to an alkaline solution containing sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide or tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to prepare zinc oxide nanoparticles. During the reaction, the solubility of methanol and ethanol to the metal alkoxide is low, so it is necessary to carry out the reaction at a high temperature (>80 ° C) and a large amount of solvent to increase the solubility of the metal alkoxide, which results in high production cost.

Furthermore, the zinc oxide nanoparticle particles obtained by the above method have a particle diameter of about 4 to 7 nm, and cannot be applied to a semiconductor device having a large energy gap. If a small particle size of zinc oxide nanoparticle is to be produced, The general practice can be achieved by reducing the reaction time or controlling the pH of the solution. However, both of the above methods greatly reduce the production of nanoparticle, resulting in an increase in production cost, and in the subsequent purification process, it is not easy to precipitate and separate, and it is not uniformly dispersed in the solvent.

In view of the foregoing, the inventors of the present invention have painstakingly studied, thought about, and designed a method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle, which is improved in view of the lack of the prior art, thereby enhancing the industrial use and utilization.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing metal oxide nanoparticles, which can obtain metal oxide nanoparticles having small particle size and high activity, and can increase the yield and reduce the production cost. Can be widely used as a photoelectric element.

Based on the above object, the present invention provides a method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle, comprising the steps of: (a) dissolving a metal salt and an ethanolamine compound having one or more methyl groups in a first organic solvent, Metal chelation is performed to form a chelated metal ion solution. (b) preparing a solution of tetramethylammonium hydroxide in ethanol having a predetermined concentration. (c) adding a tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution to the chelate metal ion solution at a predetermined rate to carry out a condensation reaction to form a plurality of metal oxide nanoparticles. And (d) slowly pouring the solution after the condensation reaction in the step (c) into the second organic solvent to terminate the reaction.

Preferably, the metal salt is a metal acetate or a metal nitrate.

Preferably, the ethanolamine compound is one of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine or any combination thereof.

Preferably, the first organic solvent is dimethyl hydrazine or tetrahydrofuran.

Preferably, the second organic solvent is one of ethyl acetate, acetone, n-hexane or any combination thereof.

Preferably, the equivalent ratio of the equivalent of the metal salt to the ethanolamine compound is from 1:0.9 to 1.1.

Preferably, the equivalent ratio of the metal salt equivalent to the tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution is from 1.5 to 2:1.

Preferably, the preset concentration is a molar concentration of 0.5 to 0.8 M.

Preferably, the preset speed is from 0.1 to 2 ml/min.

Preferably, the method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle of the present invention further comprises the step (e) of subjecting the step (d) to centrifugation, precipitation, separation and purification.

In order to make the above-mentioned objects, technical features, and gains after actual implementation more obvious, the detailed description of the preferred embodiments will be described below in the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to Fig. 1, which is a schematic view showing the steps of a method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle of the present invention. The preparation method of the metal oxide nano particle of the invention comprises the following steps:

Step 100: Dissolving a metal salt and an ethanolamine compound having one or more methyl groups in a first organic solvent, performing metal chelation, and stirring the solution at room temperature for 30 minutes to uniformly dissolve the metal salt. To form a chelated metal ion solution. Among them, the metal salts may be metal acetates or metal nitrates. The ethanolamine compound may be monoethanolamine, diethanolamine or triethanolamine. The first organic solvent may be dimethyl hydrazine, tetrahydrofuran or other aprotic organic solvent. The equivalent ratio of the equivalent of the metal salt to the ethanolamine compound is preferably from 1:0.9 to 1.1, more preferably 1:1.

Step 200: Preparing a solution of tetramethylammonium hydroxide in ethanol having a preset concentration. The preset concentration is preferably a molar concentration of 0.5 to 0.8 M, preferably 0.55 M. The equivalent ratio of the equivalent of the tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution to the metal salt is preferably 1:1.5 to 2, more preferably 1:1.6. Further, the prepared tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution is an alkaline solution, and therefore, a sodium hydroxide solution or a potassium hydroxide solution may be prepared instead of the above tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution.

Step 300: adding a tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution to the chelated metal ion solution at a preset speed of 0.1 to 2 ml/min using a burette, and reacting at normal temperature for 1 hour to carry out a condensation reaction to generate a plurality of particle diameters smaller than 3 nm metal oxide nanoparticles. In step 300, if the dropping rate of the tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution is too fast, metal oxide nanoparticles having a large particle diameter are formed, and aggregation of the metal oxide nanoparticles is caused. Therefore, the dropping rate of the tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution is the key to step 300. Further, when the solution after the reaction was irradiated with ultraviolet light, the fluorescence phenomenon of the metal oxide nanoparticles was observed to confirm the formation of the metal oxide nanoparticles. Specifically, in step 300, the ethanolamine in the chelated metal ion solution can be used as a chelating agent to coat the formed metal oxide nanoparticles to avoid rapid growth of the metal oxide nanoparticles to obtain a preferred particle size. The distribution and smaller particle size also reduce the aggregation of metal oxide nanoparticles, and excess reactants and chelating agents can be removed in subsequent steps. The tetramethylammonium hydroxide in the ethanol solution is used to control the pH value, and the generated metal oxide nanoparticles are suspended. If the pH value of the solution is too large, the reaction is too fast, and the metal oxide nanoparticles are not easily formed. .

Step 400: The solution after the condensation reaction in step 300 is slowly poured into the second organic solvent to terminate the reaction, thereby preventing the formed metal oxide nanoparticles from continuing to react. The solution at this time is in a turbid state, and the second organic solvent may be ethyl acetate, acetone, n-hexane or other organic solvent incompatible with the metal oxide nano particles, so that the metal oxide nanoparticles are precipitated and precipitated. At the bottom of the organic solvent.

Step 500: centrifuging and precipitating the solution in the turbid state, and separating and obtaining the metal oxide nanoparticle solid and the clear liquid, and adding too much reactant and chelating agent when the reaction in the clear liquid is poured out, and then adding the ethanol solvent. The metal oxide nanoparticle solids are oscillated by ultrasonic waves to form a clear metal oxide nanoparticle solution. After the ethanol solvent is volatilized, a plurality of powders of metal oxide nanoparticles can be obtained. Wherein, the obtained metal oxide nanoparticles have a particle diameter of less than 3 nm. In particular, the ethanol solution in this step can store metal oxide nanoparticles at room temperature for more than 15 days without aggregation or precipitation, thereby being directly applicable to general component processes without the need for high temperature annealing. A thin film layer of a metal oxide nanoparticle having a uniform thickness can be produced.

For example, the production process of the zinc oxide nano particles of the present embodiment is as follows. First, 330 mg of zinc acetate dihydrate and 20 mg of monomethylamine (MEA) were co-dissolved in 15 mL of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes with a magnetic stir bar. Zinc acetate dehydrate was uniformly dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). 5 mL of a tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) ethanol solution of 0.55 M Mohr concentration was prepared, and a tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) ethanol solution was used at a rate of 0.5 mL/min using a burette. Drip into the zinc acetate dehydrate solution, continuously stir the zinc acetate dehydrate solution, and react at room temperature for 1 hour. At this time, the solution is irradiated with ultraviolet light, and zinc oxide nanoparticles can be observed. Fluorescent reaction. The reaction-completed zinc oxide nanoparticle solution was slowly poured into 40 mL of ethyl acetate (Ethyl Acetate). At this time, the solution was visually observed to be turbid, that is, zinc oxide nanoparticles were precipitated. Finally, the turbid solution is centrifuged to obtain a zinc oxide nanoparticle solid in the lower layer, the clear liquid is in the upper layer, the upper clear liquid is poured out, and an appropriate amount of ethanol is added to the zinc oxide nanoparticle solid. In the case of ultrasonic vibration, a clear solution of zinc oxide nanoparticle can be obtained. Similarly, the fluorescent reaction of the zinc oxide nanoparticles was observed by irradiating the clarified zinc oxide nanoparticle solution with ultraviolet light. Please refer to Figures 2A and 2B. Figure 2A shows that the solution is transparent and clear before the zinc oxide nanoparticles are irradiated with ultraviolet light. Figure 2B shows that the solution is in a transparent and clear state to illuminate the ultraviolet light, and the solution exhibits a fluorescent reaction. In particular, in the preparation method of the above zinc oxide nanoparticles, the net weight of the nanoparticle powder having an average particle diameter of 2.9 nm is 90 mg, and if no monoethanolamine is added, the amount of the tetramethylammonium hydroxide solution is reduced. In order to reduce the growth rate of the nanoparticles, the net weight of the zinc oxide nanoparticle powder of the same particle size is about 30 mg.

Please refer to Figures 3 to 5 for the physical properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles prepared by the method for preparing metal oxide nanoparticles according to the present invention. Among them, Fig. 3 is a transmission electron micrograph of zinc oxide nanoparticles, and the average particle diameter of zinc oxide nanoparticles is 2.9 nm according to the area ratio method and using an empirical formula. Figure 4 is the absorption and optical laser spectrum of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The absorption spectrum shows that the first absorption peak is at a wavelength of 319 nm. The optical laser spectrum shows that the fluorescence mainly comes from the defect luminescence at a wavelength of 510 nm, and the spectral energy level can also be used. And the energy gap to push back the average particle size of the zinc oxide nanoparticles. Figure 5 is an X-ray diffraction diagram of zinc oxide nanoparticles, which is a common wurtzite structure, that is, although the particle size of the synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles is small, it still has The crystal structure, therefore, can be more widely used as a photovoltaic element.

Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a schematic diagram of a metal oxide nanoparticle prepared according to the present invention applied to a diode structure 1 including an upper electrode layer 12 , a metal oxide layer 14 , an organic layer 16 , and a high conductivity. The molecular layer 18 and the lower electrode layer 20 further form a light emitting diode structure. Among them, the metal oxide layer 14 is applied onto the organic layer 16 by a spin coating method.

In practice, the uniformly suspended metal oxide nanoparticle solution can be prepared into a uniform thickness metal oxide nanoparticle film by a general solution process without a high temperature annealing step. The metal oxide nano particles dissolved in the organic solvent are compatible with the current high molecular polymer light-emitting diode (PLED) and quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) device processes, and can be used in thin film transistors. In resistive memory. In addition, since the activity of the nanoparticles is inversely proportional to the particle size, the metal oxide nanoparticles can also be used in applications such as photocatalyst sterilization and special gas detection.

In summary, the method for preparing the metal oxide nano particles of the present invention is a method for synthesizing metal oxide nanoparticles of normal temperature aqueous phase chemistry, and the particle size is controlled by the formulation and dropping speed of the chelating agent. The particle size distribution not only can obtain metal oxide nanoparticles with small particle size and high activity, but also increase the yield and reduce the production cost. In addition, it can also be widely used as a photovoltaic element.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

1‧‧‧Diode structure

12‧‧‧Upper electrode layer

14‧‧‧Metal oxide layer

16‧‧‧Organic layer

18‧‧‧ Conductive polymer layer

20‧‧‧ lower electrode layer

100‧‧‧ steps

200‧‧‧ steps

300‧‧‧Steps

400‧‧‧ steps

500‧‧‧ steps

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the steps of a method for producing metal oxide nanoparticles according to the present invention.

2A and 2B are schematic views showing the appearance of a solution before and after irradiation with ultraviolet light, based on the zinc oxide nanoparticles prepared in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a photomicrograph of a transmission electron microscope showing the zinc oxide nanoparticle produced according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows the absorption spectrum and the optical laser spectrum of the zinc oxide nanoparticles prepared according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view showing an X-ray diffraction pattern of zinc oxide nanoparticles prepared in accordance with Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing the structure of a diode structure according to the metal oxide nanoparticle produced in Fig. 1.

Claims (10)

A method for preparing metal oxide nano particles, comprising the steps of: (a) dissolving a metal salt and a monoethanolamine compound having one or more methyl groups in a first organic solvent for metal chelation To form a chelated metal ion solution; (b) preparing a tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution having a predetermined concentration; (c) adding the tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution to the chelate at a preset rate The metal ion solution is subjected to a condensation reaction to form a plurality of metal oxide nanoparticles; and (d) the solution obtained by the condensation reaction in the step (c) is slowly poured into a second organic solvent to terminate the reaction. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein the metal salt is a metal acetate or a metal nitrate. The method for producing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein the ethanolamine compound is one of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine or any combination thereof. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein the first organic solvent is dimethyl hydrazine or tetrahydrofuran. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein the second organic solvent is one of ethyl acetate, acetone, n-hexane or any combination thereof. The method for producing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein an equivalent ratio of the equivalent of the metal salt to the ethanolamine compound is 1:0.9 to 1.1. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein an equivalent ratio of the equivalent of the metal salt to the tetramethylammonium hydroxide ethanol solution is 1.5 to 2:1. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein the preset concentration is a molar concentration of 0.5 to 0.8 M. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, wherein the preset speed is 0.1 to 2 ml/min. The method for preparing a metal oxide nanoparticle according to claim 1, further comprising the step (e) of performing the centrifugation, precipitation, separation and purification of the step (d).