Comparative study of ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite using Cinnamomum verum bark extract by hydrothermal and green synthesis methods

Today, nanotechnology is used to develop more robust, high quality, durable, cheap, lightweight and small devices. These products are characterised by production advantages such as reduced material usage, energy saving, cost effectiveness, easy transport, increased functionality and ease of use. The use of plants and spices to synthesise nanoparticles is a sustainable and promising field. The extracts obtained from plants and their derivatives by various methods react with metal salts to reduce metal atoms and thus to form nano-sized metal particles. Considering this information and in line with the extensive literature review, this thesis investigates the production of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and zinc oxide/titanium dioxide (ZnO/TiO2) nanocomposites by hydrothermal and green synthesis methods using Cinnamomum verum bark extract, which is a good reducing product due to its natural and organic components. The obtained ZnO NPs and ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).