Cobalt-doped ZnO nanoparticles at different compositions have been obtained by the polymeric precursor method. The nanoparticles were obtained at the working pH from 8.3 to 8.5 and synthesized at 550 °C. The properties were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrational spectroscopy (FTIR/Raman), diffuse reflectance absorbance spectroscopy (DR UV–Vis), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), and impedance spectroscopy. The lattice parameters were determined at room temperature by Rietveld refinement, confirming single-phase composition with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. FTIR and Raman analyzes identified the characteristic vibrations of the synthesized system and the typical deformations of the wurtzite-type hexagonal structure, corroborating the results obtained from XRD. A redshift in the optical energy band gap (Egopt) was observed with increasing cobalt content compared to the ZnO sample. Considering the doping percentage, Egopt value varied between 3.13 eV and 3.04 eV for pure ZnO and Co-doped ZnO with 5 at. %., indicating that the optical properties of the nanoparticles were affected by dopant concentration. PL and SEM/EDS characterization were used to determine the associated defects for each sample and the morphology and composition of the nanoparticles. PL results showed a strong blue emission at around 439 nm (2.83 eV), which is redshift with cobalt content (ΔE between 0.05 eV and 0.01 eV), attributed to the surface defects present in the doped samples. Conductivity analysis to temperature revealed a semiconductor behavior for all samples, and their respective activation energies determined. The results provide an easy method to obtain Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles with interesting properties for optoelectronics devices.
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