Doping, structural, optical and electrical properties of Ni2+ doped CdO nanoparticles prepared by microwave combustion route

Abstract

This work outlines the synthesis of pure CdO and Ni-CdO nanoparticles with different weight percentage (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 wt%) of Ni2+ through microwave combustion route using cadmium nitrate and nickel nitrate as precursors and ethylene glycol as solvent. The morphological, optical and electrical properties of the material obtained after calcination was systematically characterized for various physicochemical properties and photoconductivity characteristics. The X-ray diffraction study of the synthesized and calcinated CdO and Ni-CdO nanoparticles confirms the existence of cubic phase with no impurity peaks (up to 4 wt%). The average crystalline size is found to be in the range of 41–47 nm based on Debye-Scherrer formula calculation. The scanning electron micrograph reveals that the synthesized samples are prismatic to spherical shaped and also it is observed that, the porosity enhances with increase in the concentration of Ni2+ ions. Energy dispersive X-ray micrographs show the existence of Ni2+ in the Ni-CdO samples. The optical bandgaps of synthesized samples are determined by Tauc's plot. Transmission electron microscope images are in accordance with the surface morphologies of scanning electron micrographs. The current-voltage characteristic (I–V) of CdO and Ni-CdO films shows that the photo current of CdO and Ni-CdO films is greater in UV-light as compared to dark.