Investigation of structural and morphological properties of ZnO nanoflowers on biocompatible polymeric substrate

Abstract

In this study, acrylic acid (AA) biocompatible hydrogels were prepared and used as a polymeric substrate for zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflower. Acrylic acid hydrogels were synthesized by free radical polymerization technique. ZnO nanoflowers on hydrogels (ZnO/PAA) were prepared for the first time in literature by Chemical Bath Deposition technique at a very short deposition time (30 minutes). Structural and morphological properties of ZnO nanoflowers on PAA hydrogels were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive of X-Ray (FESEM-EDX) respectively. Distribution of ZnO nanoflower on PAA hydrogels was determined by using elemental mapping. The XRD patterns showed that ZnO nanoflowers were fully formed on hydrogels. The FT-IR spectrum proved the characteristic absorption peaks of ZnO. FESEM images showed that the homogeneous morphology of ZnO nanoflowers. Nanoflowers were synthesized with an average size of 700 nm. XRD, FT-IR spectroscopy and FESEM-EDX analysis evidenced the successful synthesize of novel ZnO/PAA biocompatible nanocomposite hydrogels.