SYNTHESIS OF METAL OXIDE NANOPARTICLES AND STUDIES ON THEIR OPTICAL PROPERTIES

Abstract

Cuprous oxide nanoparticles possess interesting optical and electronic properties due to which they are used in a wide range of applications such as photocatalysis, optoelectronic devices, and gas sensors. In the present study, Cu2O nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by homogeneous precipitation method. The Cu2O nanoparticles were characterized by an array of techniques such as X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. XRD results confirm the formation of Cu2O nanoparticles with crystallite size of about 12-18 nm. The morphological studies on the Cu2O nanoparticles indicate particles with spherical morphology. Bulk cuprous oxide possesses a band gap o12.!4 eV whereas the Cu2O nanoparticles possess between 2.22 eV and 2.45 eV. Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound having unique chemical and physical properties. ZnO shows various interesting properties such as photoluminescence in visible region, piezoelectricity, and transparency. These properties can be modified with the incorporation of transition metal ions. In the present study, Mn2 ion doped ZnO nanorods have been prepared by thermal decomposition method. The Mn doped ZnO nanorods were characterized by techniques such as X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV- Vis spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. XRD studies confirm the doping of Mn 21 ions in ZnO lattice as no extra peaks other than the peaks of ZnO were obtained. The average crystallite size of'the ZnO nanorods is in the range of 24-28 nm. The morphological studies show the change in dimensions of ZnO nanorods with varying amount of Mn2 ions.