Experimental Investigation on Structural, Optical, Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper, we present the structural, optical, electrical and magnetic properties of the copper oxide nanoparticles prepared by co-precipitation method. The prepared copper oxide nanoparticles have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray electron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. CuO nanoparticles exhibit spherical shape with the average particle size of around 42 nm. The X-ray diffraction pattern reaveals the crystalline monoclinic phase. The optical properties of the CuO nanoparticles studied by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy show the blue-shifted band gap of 1.45 eV. The electrical conductivity value of the sample has been measured using Keithley meter and it is 0.16 S/m. The magnetic properties measured using vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature show a weak ferromagnetic behaviour with the dominant paramagnetic contribution of the CuO nanoparticles. The weak room temperature ferromagnetic behaviour may be associated with the oxygen vacancies and spin ordering induced by thermal energy and reduction in particle size.

Graphic Abstract