Ni Doped CuO Nanoparticles: Structural and Optical Characterizations

In recent years, applications of metal oxide nanoparticles have become increasingly relevant ranging from semiconductor to medical health industries. In work presented here, Ni doped CuO nanoparticles with doping concentrations varying from 0% to 7% have been synthesized via sol-gel combustion route without adding any surfactants or templates. Detailed structural observations by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman studies revealed a highly crystalline single phase monoclinic structure for as-synthesized nanoparticles. The decreasing particle size with increasing Ni content was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) as observed by XRD analysis. An obvious increase of band gap estimated by UV-Vis spectrophotometer with increasing Ni dopant concentration was found. Additionally, an increase in the intensity of luminescent emission was observed with photoluminescence (PL) spectra which can be attributed to the defects in the doped samples. These changes in optical properties as a function of Ni doping could present novel strategies leading to tailored metal oxide nanoparticles for desired applications.