حامد بحیرایی

Today, there are numerous physical and chemical methods for the synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles. In these methods the use of expensive and toxic precursor causes damage to the environment. Hence, replacement of natural materials with chemicals precursor seems to be necessary for preparation of nanoparticles. Recently, the green synthesis of nanoparticles using plant extracts has been considered by researchers. In this study, ZnO nanoparticles were successfully prepared using gum tragacanth, as a natural bio-polymer with microwave assisted method. Structural, microstructural and optical properties of the prepared nanoparticles were investigated using XRD, FE-SEM, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The XRD pattern indicated that the prepared powder has Wurtzite structure without any impurity phase. FE-SEM images showed spherical particles with the average size of 47 nm. FT-IR spectra showed tow absorption peaks in the range of 400-500 cm-1 area of the Zn- O bond confirming the formation of ZnO. The band gap of sample was measured about 3.06 eV.