Open AccessA Low Cost Synthesis and Characterization of CuO Nanoparticles for Photovoltaic Applications
Author(s) -
Alfred Ato Yankson,
A. Kuditcher,
G. Gebreyesus,
Martin Egblewogbe,
J. K. A. Amuzu,
Esau Abekah Armah
Publication year - 2019
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0855-1448
DOI - 10.4314/gjs.v60i1.2
Subject(s) - crystallite , absorbance , nanoparticle , materials science , particle size , transmission electron microscopy , band gap , copper oxide , particle size distribution , oxide , analytical chemistry (journal) , diffraction , powder diffraction , particle (ecology) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , crystallography , optics , optoelectronics , metallurgy , organic chemistry , chromatography , physics , oceanography , geology , engineering
A simple low cost chemical route has been used to synthesize cupric oxide nanoparticles. The synthesized CuO nanoparticles were characterized using XRD, TEM and UV-absorption. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the synthesized nanoparticles to be a pure cupric oxide. EDAX analysis showed the presence of copper and Oxygen in the as prepared CuO nano particles, with the AAS indicating that Cu2+ represented 53.5% of the sample. The particle size and particle size distribution of the cupric oxide nanoparticles were obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) whereas the crystallite size and crystallite size distribution were obtained by X-ray diffraction. The particle size was found to be between 20 nm and 60 nm. The particle size distribution obtained from cumulative percentage frequency plots features a log-normal function. Absorbance measurements and analysis showed that the material has an absorbance peak at 314 nm and energy bandgap of 1.48 eV, making it a good candidate for photovoltaic applications.