Synthesis and Characterization of Nano Structured Zinc(II) Cysteine Complex under Ultrasound Irradiation

Cysteine and zinc oxides are important materials that have a wide range of applications especially in biomedical sciences. In this study, synthesis and characterization of nano structured Zn(II) complex of cysteine, (cysteine = 2-amino-3-mercaptopropanoic acid), in two different particle sizes, has been investigated. The reaction of Zinc(II) acetate and KI with cysteine ligand under ultrasonic irradiation, leads to the formation of nano sized Zn(II) cysteine complex. Particle sizes of the product have been decreased after thermal treatments in an autoclave. The hexagonal micro crystalline zinc oxide, has been prepared using Zn(II) cysteine complex as precursor. Characterization of the Zn(II) complex, has been performed using elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, energy dispersed X-ray analysis (EDAX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). Based on the results, chemical formula for the Zn(II) cysteine complex is proposed as [ZnI2(C3H5NO2S)]n. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis has demonstrated nano particles Zn(II) complex with average diameter of about 38-54 nm. Hexagonal ZnO micro structures were characterized by FTIR, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) techniques.