Optical and Electrical Properties of Cu-ZnO Prism Shaped Nanocrystals by Microwave Combustion Method

Vidyasagar C. C^1, , Gururaj Hosamani² and Prakash Kariyajjanavar³

¹Department of Chemistry, Rani Channamma University, Belgaum-591 156, India

²Department of Electronics, Kuvempu University, Shankaraghatta-577 451, India

³Department of Environmental Science, Gulbarga University, Kalaburagi-585106, India

Cite this paper

Vidyasagar C. C, Gururaj Hosamani and Prakash Kariyajjanavar. Optical and Electrical Properties of Cu-ZnO Prism Shaped Nanocrystals by Microwave Combustion Method. American Journal of Energy Research. 2019; 7(1):31-40. doi: 10.12691/AJER-7-1-4

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a low cost and promising alternative to standard silicon photovoltaic cells; there is growing interest in near-infrared sensitization of semiconductor anode materials, which converts to high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). In this work, the effect of ion implantation and annealing temperature has been studied to provide an effective approach for developing visible-light driven Cu-ZnO anode materials for solar cells. Synthesis of ZnO and Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles via microwave combustion method without using any fuel is proposed. The crystal structure, optical properties, surface morphology and electrical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and Keithley Source meter. The results revealed that the change in lattice parameters, decrease in the band gap and absorption peak shifting towards near-infrared region are due to the change in concentration and annealing temperature. The change in crystal defects leads to an abrupt change in bond length, unit volume and lattice strain in the Cu-ZnO crystals. Optical absorbance of copper phthalocyanine pigment (Imperon Blue-15) sensitized Cu-ZnO films were found to be at 600 nm to 700 nm region.

Keywords

crystal structure, doping, Imperon Blue, I-V characteristics, zinc oxide

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

[1]	C.C Vidyasagar, Y. ArthobaNaik, T.G. Venkatesh, R. Viswanatha, Solid-state synthesis and effect of temperature on optical properties of Cu–ZnO, Cu–CdO and CuO nanoparticles. Powder Tech. 214 (2011) 337-343.
[2]	S. Rani, S. Poonam, P.K. Shishodia, R.M. Mehra, Synthesis of nanocrystalline ZnO powder via sol-gel route for dye-sensitized solar cells. Solar Enrgy. Mater. Solar Cells. 92 (2008) 1639-1645.
[3]	Y.Y. Ian Bu, Facile synthesis of highly oriented p-type aluminum co-doped zinc oxide film with aqua ammonia. J. Alloys. Comp. 509 (2011) 2874-2878.
[4]	U.G. Akpan, B.H. Hameed, The advancements in sol-gel method of doped-TiO2 photocatalysts. Appl. Catal., A. 375 (2010) 1-11.
[5]	M. Law, L.E.; Greene, J.C. Johnson, R. Saykally, P. Yang, Nanowire dye-sensitized solar cells. Nat. Mater. 4 (2005) 455-459.
[6]	X.F. Gao, L. Jiang, Nature. 432 (2004) 36-38.
[7]	B. Panigrahy, M. Aslam, D. Bahadur, Effect of Fe Doping Concentration on Optical and Magnetic Properties of ZnO Nanorods. Nanotechnol. 23 (2012) 115601-115606.
[8]	J. Kaur, R.K. Kotnala, V. Gupta, K.C. Verma, Anionic Polymerization in Co and Fe Doped ZnO: Nanorods Magnetism and Photoactivity. Current Appl. Phy. A. 14 (2014) 749-756.
[9]	S. Kuriakose, B. Satpatib, S. Mohapatra, Enhanced Photocatalytic activity of co doped ZnO nanodisks and nanorods prepared by a facile wet chemical method. Phy. Chem. Chem. Phys. 16 (2014) 12741-12749.
[10]	L. Li, W. Wang, H. Liu, Liu, Q. Song, S. Ren, First Principles Calculations of Electronic Band Structure and Optical Properties of Cr-Doped ZnO. J. Phy. Chem. C. 113 (2009) 8460-8464.
[11]	M. Ahmad, E. Ahmed, Y.W. Zhang, N.R. Khalid, J.F. Xu, M. Ullah, Z.L. Hong, Preparation of Highly Efficient Al-Doped ZnO Photocatalyst by Combustion Synthesis. Current Appl. Phy. 13 (2013) 4697-704.
[12]	J.B. Zhong, Z. Li, X.Y. He, Zeng, Y. Lu, W. Hu, K. Lin, Improved Photocatalytic Performance of Pd-Doped ZnO. Current Appl. Phy. 12 (2012) 998-1001.
[13]	F.F. Ca, S. Xin, Y.G. Guo, L.J. Wan, Phy. Wet Chemical Synthesis of Cu/TiO2 Nanocomposites with Integrated Nano-Current Collectors as High Rate Anode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries. Phy.l Chem. Chem. Phy. 13 (2011) 2014-2020.
[14]	M. Karimi, M. Ezzati, S. Akbari, Behtaj M. Lejbini, ZnO Microparticles, ZnO Nanoparticles and Zn0.9Cu0.1O Nanoparticles toward Ethanol Vapour Sensing: A Comparative Study. Current Appl. Phy. 13 (2013) 1758-1764.
[15]	B. Choudhary, S. Chawla, K. Jayanthi, K.N. Sood, S. Singh, Synthesis and Surface Modification of ZnO:Cu Nanoparticles by Silica and PMMA. Current Appl. Phy. 10 (2010) 3807-3812.
[16]	K.S. Ahn, S.Y. Yan, T. Shet, J. Deutsch, M. Al-Jassim, Enhanced photoelectrochemical response of ZnO films through Ga and N co-doping. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91 (2007) 231909-231912.
[17]	M. Gratzel, Recent advances in sensitized mesoscopic solar cells, Acc. Chem. Res. 42 (2009) 1788-1798.
[18]	M. Juddin, K. Iskandar, F. G. Okuyama, Stable photoluminescence of zinc oxide quantum dots in silica nanoparticles matrix prepared by the combined sol-gel and spray drying method. J. Appl. Phys. 89 (2001) 6431-6437.
[19]	P. Chand, A. Gaur, A. Kumar, Structural, optical and ferroelectric behavior of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanostructures. Superlatt. Microstr. 64 (2013) 331-342.
[20]	S. Kamarnen, M. Bruno, Synthesis of ZnO with and without microwaves. Mater. Res. Bull. 35 (2000) 1843-1847.
[21]	R.R. Bacsa, J. Dexpert-Ghys, M. Verelst, A. Falqui, B. Machado, W.S. Bacsa, P. Chen, S.M. Zakeeruddin, M. Graetzel, Synthesis and Structure–Property Correlation in Shape-Controlled ZnO Nanoparticles Prepared by Chemical Vapor Synthesis and their Application in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. AdV.Funct. Mater. 19 (2009) 875-886.
[22]	K.W. Gallis, C.C. Landry, Templated Gold Nanowire Self-Assembly on Carbon Substrates. Adv. Mater. 13 (2001) 1800-1803.
[23]	Z.W Pan, S.M. Mahurin, S. Dai, D.H. Lowndes, Lowndes, D. H. Nanowire Array Gratings with ZnO Combs. Nano Lett. 5 (2005) 723-727.
[24]	K.B. Suresh, L. Minoh, G.K. Man, J. Yong seok, J. Improvement of dye-sensitized solar cells toward the broader light harvesting of the solar spectrum, Chem. Commun. 49 (2013) 1471-1487.
[25]	C. Prakash, G. Anurag, K. Ashavani, Effect of Cr and Fe Doping on the Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanostructures. Inter. J. Chem. Molecular, Nuclear Mater. Metallug. Eng. 8 (2014) 12-17.
[26]	X. X. Zhou, J. Zhao Zhi Yuan, K, Qin, Z. Shu-Hong, X. Tao, H. Rong-Bin, Z. Lan-Sun, Formation of ZnO hexagonal micro-pyramids; a successful control of the exposed polar surfaces with assistance of an ionic liquid. Chem. Commun. 2 (2005) 5572-5574.
[27]	S. Mohammad, B. Sunayna, M.M. Muhammad, L. Jianlin, Realization of Cu-Doped p-type ZnO thin films by molecular beam epitaxy. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 7 (2015) 8894-8899.
[28]	H.M. Galindo, Y. Carvajal, E. Njagi, R.A. Ristau, S.L. Suib, Facile one-step template-free synthesis of uniform hollow microstructures of crypto melane-type manganese oxide K-OMS-2. Langmuir. 26 (2010) 13677-13683.
[29]	C. Dewei, L. Sean, Growth and Electrical Properties of Doped ZnO by Electrochemical Deposition. New J. Glass Ceram. 02 (2012) 13-16.
[30]	C. C. Vidyasagar, Mohammed Khenfouch, Prakash Kariyajjanavar, Green Microwave Combustion Synthesis Cr-ZnO Nanocrystals and Effect of Cr2+ on Structural and Electrical Properties, Adv. Sci. Eng. Med. 9 (2017) 810-815.
[31]	C.C. Vidyasagar, Y. Arthoba Naik, Surfactant (PEG 400) effects on crystallinity of ZnO nanoparticles, Arabian J. Chem. (2016) 9, 507-510.
[32]	B.E. Hardin, E.T. Hoke, P.B. Armstrong, Y. Jun-Ho, P. Comte, T. Torres, J.M.J. Frechet, K. Nazeeruddin, M. Gratzel, M.D. McGehee, Increased light harvesting in dye-sensitized solar cells with energy relay dyes. Nat. Photonics. 3 (2009) 406-411.
[33]	R.O. Yathisha, Y. Arthoba Nayaka, C.C. Vidyasagar, Microwave combustion synthesis of hexagonal prism shaped ZnO nanoparticles and effect of Cr on structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO nanoparticles, Mater. Chem. Phy. 181 (2016) 167-175.
[34]	A.K. Singh, Synthesis, characterization, electrical and sensing properties of ZnO nanoparticles. Adv. Powder Tech. 21 (2010) 609-613.