Nickel Pyrophosphate Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Structural, Thermal, Spectroscopic, and Dielectric Studies

Nickel pyrophosphate is very popular material having applications in energy storage devices as well as supercapacitors. In this study, a surfactant-mediated approach was adapted to synthesis nickel pyrophosphate nanoparticles. The prepared material was subjected to structural, optical, electrical and electrochemical property studies. Peak broadening in the powder XRD pattern confirmed the nanostructured nature and monoclinic structure of pure alpha-Ni2P2O7 nanoparticle with unit cell parameters of a = 13:09 A, b = 8:05 A, c = 8:974 A, alpha = 90:00, beta = 104:94, gamma = 90:00. Pure alpha-Ni2P2O7 samples calcined at 300 degrees C, 600 degrees C, 900 degrees C show monoclinic structure. The average crystallite size and the internal strain were evaluated using Scherrer's formula and Williamson-Hall (W-H) respectively. The TEM analysis confirmed the particle size in the range of 5-10 nm for Ni2P2O7. Presence of symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations of P-O-P and PO3 was determined by FT-IR spectroscopy. The spectral range of 210-1200 nm was employed by the UV-NIR absorption spectroscopy, and the energy band gap calculated from Tauc's plot is found to be 5.38 eV for pure Ni2P2O7. The EDAX analysis confirmed the elemental composition. The TGA analysis reveals that the sample becomes anhydrous and remain stable beyond 600 degrees C. The higher dielectric constant observed for the sample is promising for semiconductor, DRAM memory devices and ceramic capacitors. The a.c. conductivity increases with increasing frequency and follows Jonscher's Power law. On the basis of Jonscher parameters,

Automated summary

In this study, nickel pyrophosphate nanoparticles were synthesized using a surfactant-mediated approach, and their structural, optical, electrical, and electrochemical properties were studied. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited a nanostructured monoclinic structure with small crystallite size and internal strain. The nanoparticles showed good absorption performance in the visible range and had high dielectric constant and alternating current conductivity. These findings are significant for the applications in energy storage devices and supercapacitors.