ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

The shape transformation from nanoflakes into nanorods of coupled nanophase CuO–ZnO on higher-level accretion of Cu in ZnO

A. Sabarinathan, R. Jayaprakash, and R. Robert

PG and Research Department of Physics, Government Arts College for Men, Krishnagiri, India

E-mail: roberthosur@yahoo.co.in

Received: 31 July 2021  Accepted: 14 March 2022

Abstract:

The present work demonstrates a facile preparation and characterization of polyvinyl pyrrolidine surfactant mediated coupled oxide semiconductor nanoparticles. 0, 10, 20, 30 wt% of Copper was added to Zinc Oxide by shallow chemical precipitation method for the coupled oxide nanoparticles preparation. The influence of PVP and Cu made a significant changes in the morphology of ZnO nanoparticles. FESEM and TEM analysis confirmed the morphology of the prepared samples. The more proportion of Cu concentration in ZnO made significant collapse from flakes to stacked nanoplates, oval shapes and nanorods. The XRD patterns confirm the coupled phases such as hexagonal and monoclinic structures. The effectual change in the bandgap energy was observed due to an increase in minority peaks of CuO rather than the majority peaks of ZnO nanoparticles. The DLE (Deep Level Emission) and violet emission were observed by PL analysis. The distribution of Cu level in ZnO lattice by incorporating Zn²⁺ sites was identified in XPS analysis. The prepared samples were tested for photodegradation of methylene blue dye under visible light irradiation for 120 min. The increase in photocatalytic degradation efficiency was observed due to the addition of a higher level of Cu.

Keywords: Couple phase; PVP-surfactant; Shape transition; Paddy shape; Photocatalyst

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02177-1

Chemical Papers 76 (7) 4481–4496 (2022)