simple preparation as well as structural, microstructural and optical properties of cu doped zno nanostructures

In this study, the nanostructures of zn1-xcuxo with x=0.000, 0.025, 0.050 and 0.075 were successfully synthesized by sol-gel auto combustion method using glycine as a fuel. the prepared powders were calcined at 300 °c. the effect of cu doping on structural and optical properties of powders was studied by x-ray diffraction (xrd), scanning electron microscopy (sem), uv-visible absorption spectroscopy (uv-vis) and photoluminescence (pl). the xrd patterns showed all samples have wurtzite structure. there is an extra peak belong to cuo at 2θ=38˚ in the xrd pattern of the sample with x=0.075. the average crystal size of the prepared powders is about 29-47 nm. the sem micrographs revealed that all doped nanostructures have leaf-like structure with the thickness about 15-20 nm. absorption spectra showed a red shift and decrease in the band gap in the zn1-xcuxo system. the pl spectra showed that the maximum emission wavelength increases with dopant concentration.