Production of cerium zinc molybdate nano pigment by innovative ultrasound assisted approach

Ultrasound assisted synthesis of yellow rare earth cerium zinc molybdate anticorrosion nanopigment is presented. This new class of pigment is eco-friendly alternatives to lead, cadmium and chromium pigment as these pigments contains carcinogenic species like Cr6+ which is responsible for human disease. The synthesis of nanosized cerium zinc molybdate was carried out using cerium nitrate, sodium zinc molybdate as a precursor materials by conventional and ultrasound assisted chemical precipitation method without addition of emulsification agent. XRD, FTIR and elemental analysis confirm the formation of cerium zinc molybdate nanoparticles. The conductivity results indicate that conventional synthesis takes longer time, while in sonochemical technique (US), reaction completes within short period of time. Improved solute transfer rate, rapid nucleation, and formation of large number of nuclei are attributed to presence of cavitation. Saturation of the Ce3+ ions reaches earlier in case of sonochemical technique which restricts the growth of particles hence smaller size is obtained. The crystallite size of cerium zinc molybdate was found to be 27 nm from XRD analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.