Optimization of Hydrothermal Synthesis of Dysprosium Oxide Nanoparticles-Attached-Polyethyleneglycol Template Using Response Surface Methodology-Box-Behnken

Dysprosium oxide nanoparticles (Dy2O3-nanoparticles) have been extensively used in many different fields of technologies. In addition, with a proper synthesis modification, Dy2O3- nanoparticles are promising materials not only for industry purposes, but also for biomedical applications, for instance, through polyethyleneglycol (PEG) attachment as a template on nanoparticles. This study focuses on the optimization of hydrothermal synthesis of Dy2O3- nanoparticles using Response Surface Methodology - Box-Behnken experimental design (RSM-BBD). The influences of the volume and concentration of PEG-template to the size diameter of nanoparticles were also studied. The crystal structure and surface morphology Dy2O3-nanoparticles with PEG-template modification were characterized using Tabletop Scanning Electron Microscopy (TSEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-Rays (SEM-EDX) and X-Rays Diffraction (XRD). Dy2O3-nanoparticles were prepared by using hydrothermal synthesis method with PEG-template attachment on the nanoparticles. PEG as a template will create the uniform shapes and prevent the agglomeration of the nanoparticles. For further biomedical applications, it also helps to enhance the biocompatibility of nanoparticles. The optimization of influence parameters on the hydrothermal synthesis of Dy2O3-nanoparticles, (e.g. mass ratio precursor (PEG and Dy2O3), temperature, and time) were investigated using RSM-BBD. The optimum conditions were 15 g PEG and 0.45 g Dy2O3 at 200oC for 7 h resulting in the highest amount of Dy2O3-nanoparticles products. SEM image results show spherical and nanowires shapes of Dy2O3-nanoparticles produced with the average size diameter of 10.1 nm as the smallest size of nanoparticles. In addition, XRD-patterns indicates the typical cubic structure of Dy2O3-nanoparticles with the estimation crystal size of 45.47 nm.