Synthesis of Monodispersed Tantalum(V) oxide Nanospheres by an Ethylene Glycol Mediated Route

Tantalum(V) oxide (Ta2O5) nanospheres have been synthesized by a very simple two-step process mediated via the formation of glycolate nanoparticles and their subsequent hydrolysis at room temperature in an acetone water mixture and calcination at 700 degrees C. The synthesized particles were characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, and DLS for their phase, morphology, and particle size distribution. The particle sizes could be tailored from 50 to 500 nm or more by changing the reaction conditions. The larger particles are actually constituted by crystallites of around 15-16 nm that could be seen from the X-ray diffraction pattern as well as the TEM micrographs of the calcined samples. The particles obtained are highly dispersed under appropriate reaction conditions, and the process does not require any specific equipment or high vacuum technique for the production of the nanoparticles.