Question

Chemical equation of the formation of zinc oxide nano particles from zinc nitrate hexahydrate and potassium hydroxide in methanol

Answer 1

Sodium hydroxide is a reducing agent which causes formation of ZnO according to the following equation:

ZnCl2+2NaOH=ZnO+H2O+2NaCl(aq)

ZnO is more stable than ZnCl2, thermodynamically. However, kinetic of the reaction is other important parameter. In reactions with high kinetic rate, time is so vital for reaching nanometer size. If reaction proceeds for long time particles become bigger than nano size.

The general mechanism for this reaction is nuclear & growth. It means nucleations create in system then by adding more Zn2+ and O2- ions, they become larger