MgO nanoparticles via a simple solid-state reaction

Normally, nanoparticles were obtained by complex and tedious methods. In this work, magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles were prepared by a simple solid-state reaction method without assistance of any other additives. Magnesium acetate tetrahydrate was used as the starting material and directly annealed at 800 °C for 6 h, 12 h and 24 h. All the samples were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). All the annealed samples obtained were pure, single phase of cubic structure with space group Fm-3m. SEM results show that all the samples have rounded shape with crystallite size is between 20 to 135 nm. Thus, nanoparticles of MgO can be easily obtained via a simple solid-state reaction method.