Synthesis and characterization of biopolymer-based copper carbonate nanoparticles

Abstract

The aim of this work was to select a biopolymer (chitosan, methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose and hyaluronic acid) as stabilizing agent for copper carbonate nanoparticles (CC-NPs). It was found that the optimal precursor is Cu(CH3COO)2, and the optimal precipitator is (NH4)2CO3. According to XRD data, the optimal sample has the chemical formula Cu2(OH)2CO3. SEM showed that CC-NPs consist of spherical aggregates with diameter of 0.6–1.0 µm formed by particles of 30–80 nm. The optimization of the synthesis revealed that molar ratio Cu(CH3COO)2: (NH4)2CO3 of 1:1 is optimal for the production of CC-NPs. SEM micrographs revealed formation of CC-NPs with size of 30–100 nm at stabilization with hyaluronic acid, 45–90 nm at methyl cellulose, 50–150 nm at hydroxyethyl cellulose and 30–85 nm at chitosan. Quantum chemical modeling and FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the possibility of forming scaffold matrices of biopolymer-based CC-NPs. Among considered biopolymers, chitosan was set as the optimal stabilizing agent for CC-NPs. Which provided formation of the smallest particles with size of 30–85 nm. In future works, CC-NPs-chitosan complex can be studied as a scaffold for multifaceted applications in medicine, catalysis, coatings, pigments etc