Spectral characterization of mechanically synthesized MoO3-CuO nanocomposite

In this work, MoO3-CuO metal oxide composite nanopowders are prepared by simple mechanochemical assisted synthesis technique with the stoichiometric weight ratios of MoO3 and CuO as 2.3:1 and 3.3:1, respectively. The structural and spectroscopic properties of the as-synthesised samples are characterised by XRD, SEM with EDS, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy and TGA/DTA. X-ray diffraction pattern demonstrates the peaks correspond to orthorhombic phase of a-MoO3 and monoclinic phase of bCuO. The average crystalline sizes of the 2.3:1 and 3.3:1 samples were found to be 16 and 24 nm, respectively, which are supported by Williamson–Hall (W–H) calculations. The correlations between the milling rotational speeds with morphological characteristics are revealed by the SEM images. The fundamental modes of Mo=O and Cu–O were analysed by FT-IR. Raman analysis has provided the qualitative information about the structure of the mixed oxide composite. Thermogravimetry analysis and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) of MoO3-CuO have revealed that the dual phase mixed oxide composite is stable up to 709 C with a negligible weight loss. Based on the above, it can be inferred that the synthesised mixed lubricous oxide nanocomposite could be used as a solid lubricant at elevated temperatures.