Facile one-pot synthesis of homologous (ZnO)k•In2O3 based thermoelectric ceramics (k=3, 5 & 7) by glycine nitrate combustion method and their potential application in photocatalysis

Glycine Nitrate combustion synthesis was employed for the synthesis of homologous compound ((ZnO)(k)center dot In2O3, k = 3, 5 and 7) (IZO). The effect of variation in k values associated with ZnO in the ZnO-In2O3 system is realised by analysing the structural, optical and morphological studies investigated with the help of x-ray diffraction, UV-Visible Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The x-ray diffraction analysis confirmed Rhombohedral structure wherein the crystallite size was within the range of similar to 18 to similar to 25 nm. The bandgap calculated using tau' c plot is found to be between the range of 2.95 eV to 3.21 eV. The morphological analysis carried out using SEM exhibited agglomeration of the synthesized powders.