One-pot Microwave Synthesis and Effect of Cu 2+ ions on Structural Properties of Cu-ZnO Nano Crystals

Abstract

The present study proposes that ion implementation and annealing temperature could be an effective approach for developing visible-light driven composite materials for solar cells. The present work outlines the synthesis of ZnO and Cu doped ZnOnanoparticles ranging from 0.8-5% via microwave combustion method without using any fuel. The ion implementation and the crystal structural analysis were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The shift of XRD peaks indicate Cuions incorporated into the ZnO lattice. These results have shown that the change in lattice parameters, d-spacing, unit cell volume and crystal sizes as the ion implementation occurs within the ZnO crystal, due to change in Cu concentration and annealing temperature, which leads to the improvement in the crystalline nature of the sample. Due to the Cu 2+ ion diffusion into the ZnO lattice, it was found to be change in crystal defects leads to abrupt change in bond length and lattice strain. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.