Preparation and characterization of ultrafine nanoparticles of Cu doped lithium tetraborate

This study details an innovative single-step thermal synthesis of nano-sized lithium tetraborate doped with 0.1 % wt copper and its characterization. The heating temperature for the synthesis of the nanoparticle material was optimized by variation between 200 and 850 degrees C. The optimum amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) the capping agent was determined to be 0.027 mol per 1 g LTB-Cu. The calcination time was 2 h. Characterization of the samples was carried out using Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA), Derivative Thermogravimetry (DTG), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The product was thermally stable above 450 degrees C. FTIR, XRD and TEM results confirmed the formation of pure nano-crystalline copper doped lithium tetraborate between 450 and 750 degrees C. The optical bandgap was estimated to be 5.02-6.05 eV in the presence of different amounts of PVP at various calcination temperatures. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).