S.H Tohidi - Material Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Institute
G Grigoryan - Yerevan State University, ۱ Alex Manoukian St., Yerevan
M Derhambakhsh - Material Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Institute
A Abdolmaleki - Material Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Institute

Various concentrations of copper are embedded into silica matrix to xerogels form using copper source Cu(NO3)2·3H2O. The xerogel samples are prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) by the sol-gel method and with determination of new molar ratio of components H2O/TEOS to be 6.2. In this investigation, the necessary amounts of trihydrated copper nitrate is added to the solution in such a manner that the concentration of the copper oxide in final solution reach to 1, 2 and 5 wt% (samples A, B and C respectively). After ambient drying, the gel samples are heated from 60 to 1000C at a slow heating rate (50°C/h). The absorption and transmittance spectrum of various concentrations of copper are studied by Uv-vis spectrophotometer. Thermal treatment effects are characterized by FTIR, TGA and TEM methods at different temperatures.

Copper oxide; Nanocomposite;Thermal treatment; Silica