Synthesis and characterization of some acetoxime-modified hetero-metal alkoxide precursors of zinc(II) and aluminum(III) for sol–gel transformation to nano-sized ZnAl2O4

Abstract

Reactions of [ZnAl2(OPri)8] [A] with acetoxime in different molar ratios in refluxing anhydrous benzene, yield complexes of the type [ZnAl2(OPri)8−n{(CH3)2CNO}n] {where, n = 1–4}. All the complexes are transparent viscous/foamy solids. They were characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR and NMR (1H, 13C {1H}) spectral studies. 27Al NMR spectrum of [ZnAl2(OPri)4{(CH3)2CNO}4] [4] in CDCl3 suggests presence of four coordination around both the aluminum atoms. IR spectra suggest that the oximato ligands bind the aluminum atoms in a side on manner in all the complexes. The ESI-mass spectrum of the representative derivative [4] suggests its monomeric nature while the thermo-gravimetric curve shows its low thermal stability. Sol–gel transformations of the precursors (A), (1), and (4) yielded nano-sized ZnAl2O4 samples (a), (b) and (c) at ~500 °C, respectively. The XRD patterns of (a), (b) and (c) indicate formation of cubic phase nano-sized zinc aluminate in all the samples. Surface morphologies of these samples were investigated by SEM images. IR spectra as well as EDX analyses indicate formation of pure zinc aluminate in all the cases. TEM image of sample (c) shows spherical (~5–8 nm) morphology.