Characterizing of chromium oxide nanoparticles formation from solution plasma synthesis by plasma jet

In this study, chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) nanoparticles was synthesized by cold plasma method using the plasma-jet technique. colloidal chromium oxide nanoparticles prepared using chromium nitrate CrNO3 as the precursor in 1 mM molar concentration by de-ionized water as the solvent agent. Additionally, using fructose as natural capping agent in order to prevent the agglomeration and sedimentation of the produced nanoparticles and its role in the size of nanoparticles. The plasma is generated with argon gas by dielectric barrier discharge jet. Cr₂O₃ NPs are produced instantly once the plasma is ignited. The samples are characterized by UV-visible absorbance. UV-vis spectra indicated the presence of two well-defined peaks in their spectrums, at wavelengths are 425 nm and 587 nm respectively, which is a common feature of Cr₂O₃ NPs. The elemental composition of prepared nanoparticles and their concentration has been determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-mass), and the results showed that Chromium nanoparticles concentration increased with an increase in plasma exposure times. Determination of particle size and surface charge of NPS are have been for proper characterization of NPs by DLS (dynamic light scattering) and ZP (zeta potential) measurements. The structure of the prepared sample was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). For calculating crystalline size, the Shearer formula is used. The surface morphology was studied using a Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The obtained results infer that synthesized Cr₂O₃NPs are in Rhombohedral shape, not crystallized very well with an average crystallite size of 32 nm nm. Synthesized Cr₂O₃ NPs were subjected to cold plasma to more period with adding fructose led to an increase in the crystallization of the substance and a decrease in the particle size to about 18nm.