High quality ZnO/CuO nanocomposites synthesized by microwave assisted reaction

摘要

Highly crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) and ZnO/CuO nanocomposite powders have been synthesized by a facile microwave irradiation method. The resulting powders were characterized in terms of structural, optical and morphological properties by X-ray diffraction (XRD), room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. XRD patterns revealed the formation of ZnO/CuO nanocomposites with good crystalline quality. SEM images displayed the formation of hexagonal ZnO and flower shaped agglomeration of ZnO/CuO nano-flakes with uniform production. The strong UV emission peak observed at around 380 nm show enhanced intensity for ZnO/CuO nanocomposite. Compared to ZnO nanoparticles, ZnO/ CuO composites exhibit good transparency with sharp absorbance edges. The simplicity of synthesis route coupled with better optical and PL emission properties propose the microwave synthesized ZnO/CuO nanocomposite powders a promising material for optoelectronic devices.