Facile synthesis of Zn doped CuO hierarchical nanostructures: Structural, optical and antibacterial properties

• Published in: AIP advances 2015-12, Vol.5 (12), p.127112-127112-8
• Main Authors: Iqbal, Javed, Jan, Tariq, Ul-Hassan, Sibt, Ahmed, Ishaq, Mansoor, Qaisar, Umair Ali, M., Abbas, Fazal, Ismail, Muhammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Band gap; Chemical synthesis; CONCENTRATION RATIO; COPPER OXIDES; Crystallites; DOPED MATERIALS; Doping; ENERGY GAP; MATERIALS SCIENCE; Microstrain; MONOCLINIC LATTICES; Nanostructure; NANOSTRUCTURES; Optical properties; Organic chemistry; OXYGEN; PARTICLE SIZE; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SURFACE AREA; SYNTHESIS; VARIATIONS; X-RAY DIFFRACTION; Zinc; ZINC COMPOUNDS; ZINC IONS
• ISSN: 2158-3226; 2158-3226
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4937907

ZnxCu1−xO (where x= 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.1 mol%) hierarchical nanostructures have been prepared via soft chemical route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results of the synthesized samples reveal the monoclinic structure of CuO without any impurity related phases. The micro-structural parameters such as crystallite size and microstrain have been strongly influenced by Zn doping. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses depict the formation of hierarchical nanostructures having average particle size in the range of 26-43 nm. The surface area of CuO nanostructures has been reduced systematically with the increase in Zn content which is linked with the variations in particle size. An obvious decrease in the optical band gap energy of the synthesized CuO hierarchical nanostructures has been observed with Zn doping which is assigned to the formation of shallow levels in the band gap of CuO and combined transition from oxygen 2p states to d sates of Cu and Zn ions. The bactericidal potency of the CuO hierarchical nanostructures have been found to be enhanced remarkably with Zn doping.