Optimization Preparation of Indium Tin Oxide Nanoparticles via Microemulsion Method Using Orthogonal Experiment

Indium tin oxide (ITO), an experimentally friendly transparent conducting oxide (TCO), has attracted great attention in the photoelectric field due to its intrinsically low resistivity and high transparency. In this work, the experimental conditions of preparing ITO nanoparticles using the microemulsion method were optimized by an orthogonal experiment. The optimal experimental conditions were obtained: mass ratio of the surfactant (AEO-3, MOA-5), a co-surfactant (n-propyl alcohol) of 5:3, molar ratio of indium and ammonia of 1:20, calcination temperature of 700 °C and calcination time of 4 h. Subsequently, the influence from process variables on the resistivity was researched systematically. The results demonstrated that the calcination temperature had a great effect on the resistivity; the resistivity reduced from 11.28 to 2.72 Ω·cm with the increase in the calcination temperature from 500 to 700 °C. Ultimately, ITO nanoparticles were prepared and systematically characterized under the optimal experimental conditions. The particles with a size of 60 nm were attributed to the cubic ITO crystal phase and showed low resistivity of 0.3675 Ω·cm. Significantly, ITO nanoparticles with low resistivity were obtained using the microemulsion method, which has potential application in the field of ITO nanoparticle preparation.

Synthesis and Characterization of PVA Assisted Sr-Hydroxyapatite Using Hydrothermal Coupled Microemulsion Method

Hydroxyapatite is a bioceramic material and it is one of the most important inorganic compounds which are extensively used in several forms as a bone substitute material. Hydroxyapatite is chemically represented as (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), and is chemically and crystallographically similar to the human hard tissue. The hydroxyapatite nanoparticle is mainly used in orthopaedic and dental applications due to its properties of bioactivity, osteoconduction, biocompatibility and non-toxicity. In this research work, poly vinyl alcohol assisted strontium substituted hydroxyapatite nano powders was synthesised by conventional hydrothermal coupled microemulsion method using dimethyl sulfoxide and hexane. It is well known that strontium stimulates bone formation, reduction bone resorption and it is also used to osteoporosis diseases, while poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) helps in controlling the morphology and it is beneficial for artificial bone formation and possess excellent bioactivities properties. The structure, chemical composition and morphology were investigated by different techniques such as XRD, FTIR, SEM and MTT assay. The results indicated that the poly vinyl alcohol assisted Sr substituted hydroxyapatite nanoparticle has a uniform spherical morphology, smaller particle size and with no impurities. The biomedical application studies of the as-synthesised material are yet to be studied.