Synthesis and characterization of coupled semiconductor metal oxide (ZnO/CuO) nanocomposite

摘要

ZnO/CuO nanocomposites were synthesized, using a co-precipitation method with different kinds of solvents such as water, water/monohydric alcohol (ethanol), and water/dihydric alcohol (ethane-1, 2-diol).The structural and optical properties of the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The XRD and FTIR results show the formation of the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite (hexagonal wurtzite/monoclinic phase). The TEM images showed that the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite consists of spherical particles in the size range of 10-50 nm. The PL emission spectra of the water/ethane-1,2-diol assisted ZnO/CuO nanocomposite show enhanced higher visible emission peaks than the other solvents, such as water and water/ethanol. The magnetic studies of the water/ ethane-1,2-diol assisted ZnO/CuO nanocomposite were carried out by the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis, which showed that the hysteresis loop exhibited ferromagnetic behavior.