Influence of Cu dopant on the morpho-structural and optical properties ZnO nanoparticles

In the present work, Cu-doped ZnO particles were obtained by a wet chemical method in aqueous medium using Zn(NO3)(2), Cu(CH3COO)(2) as basic precursors, NaOH as a precipitator material, in the absence and presence of two polymer surfactants (CTAB, PEO). This synthesis technique was selected as a potential method for obtaining Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles with various stoichiometric ratios. The synthesized nanoparticles were investigated using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), UV-Vis absorption and Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The results suggest that the process variables together with the type of surfactant are crucial parameters for the physical, chemical and optical properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Moreover, the use of surfactants significantly improves the quality of synthesized particles by stabilizing particle growth, reducing the surface energy, preventing the interactions among the particles and decreasing the tendency of agglomeration.