Characterizations and optical properties of MgO nanosheets synthesized by a simple sol-gel using a polyvinyl alcohol for precursor template

Magnesium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel method using polyvinyl alcohol. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the MgO crystalline were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-visible absorption, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The XRD results confirmed the formation of the MgO phase. The crystallite was found to be an average of 25 nm in size, as evaluated by the XRD line broadening method. Surprisingly, TEM bright-field images, selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) confirmed the formation of MgO crystalline. The energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) spectra of MgO nanosheets showed the presence and distribution of Mg and O elements. Moreover, estimated optical energy band gap values of 3.65-3.75 eV were obtained. PL spectra revealed that the blue and green emissions centered around 427 and 515 nm, respectively. Finally, the results revealed that PVA acted as a precursor template to encourage the MgO nanosheets and exhibit semiconductive properties.

Automated summary

In this study, magnesium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol-gel method with polyvinyl alcohol as the precursor. Characterizations of the MgO crystalline structure, morphology, and optical properties were conducted through various analytical techniques. The MgO nanosheets exhibited an average size of around 25 nm with distinct crystallinity, an estimated optical energy band gap of 3.65-3.75 eV, and blue and green emissions in the photoluminescence spectra.