Synthesis, Structural and Optical Properties of Cobalt Doped CuO Nanoparticles

A simple solvothermal microwave irradiation (SMI) route was used first time for the preparation of pure and different concentrations of cobalt (Co) doped CuO nanocrystals. The structure, morphology and composition of the as-synthesized nanocrystals were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectral (EDX) analysis. The XRD results confirmed the formation of the single phase monoclinic structure of pure and doped CuO with average crystallite sizes in the range of 10-16 nm. The surface morphology of the Co doped CuO nanocrystals did not show much change following the increasing concentration of doping. The EDX analysis showed that the atomic percentage of Cu decreases with the increasing dopant (Co) concentrations, which have proved that the Cu atoms have successfully replaced their Co counterparts as dopant. The optical absorption properties were determined by a UV-Vis spectral analysis and the results showed that the as-prepared pure and Co doped CuO nanoparticles have a larger bandgap values in the range of 2.804-3.193 eV. A strong and sharp photoluminescence (PL) emission at 300 nm excitation wavelength is reported from the prepared nanoparticles. The results show that the pure and doped CuO nanoparticles have high dispersion and narrow size distribution.