STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ZN1-XCOXO NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIZED VIA CO-PRECIPITATION METHOD

Zn1-xCoxO (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.07) samples have been prepared by the co-precipitation method. The structural and optical properties of Co-doped samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, Raman and UV-Visible spectroscopy. XRD, XPS and Raman spectroscopy results show that the ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure of all samples is preserved and Co2+ ions are replaced by Zn2+ ions in the ZnO lattice. The average crystallite size of the Zn1-xCoxO nanoparticles were within the range of 25.64–35.86 nm. It was observed that crystal growth increased with increasing Co doping to ZnO. It is seen in SEM images that homogeneously dispersed powders generally have a nanoparticle structure. With the increase of Co concentration, the (Eg) values of Zn1-xCoxO nanoparticles increased from 3.15 to 3.32 eV.