Green Synthesis of Zirconia (ZrO2) Nanoparticles using Curcuma Longa Extract and Investigation of Compressive Strength of Epoxy resin (EP)/ZrO2 Nanocomposites

Abstract

Zirconia (ZrO₂) nanoparticles are polymorphic materials having a wide range of applications. It can be synthesized via green as well as chemical synthesis methods. In this work, ZrO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by the green method using Curcuma longa extract. Curcuma longa extract was prepared using the standard method. The synthesized ZrO₂ was characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy for their structural and size analysis. The analysis of the XRD pattern of ZrO₂ showed the tetragonal phase structure and the size was calculated using the Debye Scherrer equation which was about 34.55 nm. The FTIR spectra analysis showed a broad absorption peak particularly at about 774 cm^-1 and about 499 cm^-1 correspondings to Zr-O₂-Zr asymmetric and Zr-O stretching modes, respectively. The characterized ZrO₂ nanoparticles were used for the preparation of epoxy resin/ZrO₂ nanocomposites. The compressive strength of pure epoxy resin and epoxy resin/ZrO₂ nanocomposites were measured by a compressive strength tester and the result indicates the high amount of zirconia was not suitable for the nanocomposites.