Influence of Impurity on the Properties of Chemically Synthesized Calcium Hydroxide

Here we report synthesis and characterization of chemically synthesized calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) with and without deliberate presence of NaNO3 as an impurity. Calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (Ca(NO3)2.4H2O) is used as precursor and alkaline NaOH solution is used as precipitant to synthesize the Ca(OH)2 samples. The samples were characterized by XRD, FESEM, FTIR spectroscopy, DTA, TGA and UV-Vis spectroscopy techniques. From the UV-Vis spectroscopy results, it is found that the Ca(OH)2 with NaNO3 impurity has higher bandgap than the sample without NaNO3. The weight loss in TGA is also more for the Ca(OH)2 with impurity than the one for without impurity. The results are discussed in terms of composition formed during synthesis process