The effects of Ni/Cu co-doped ZnO nanorods: structural and optoelectronic study

The hydrothermal method was used to synthesize Zn_0.99−xNi_xCu_0.01O (x = 0.00 to 0.05 with a 0.01 increment) nanorods. The X-ray diffraction method was used to provide the structural analysis. It was observed that all Ni/Cu co-doped ZnO nanorods are single phases. The Scanning Electron Microscope and Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy were employed to monitor the surface morphology, shapes, size, and elemental compositions of the Ni/Cu co-doped ZnO nanorods. The Fourier Transform Infrared studies were performed and detailed. The UV-Spectrophotometer was used to obtain the optical properties of the nanorods. The energy band gaps of Ni/Cu-doped ZnO nanorods were calculated and their effects on optical properties were discussed. Five different models were used to calculate the refractive index. Multi-doped (Ni and Cu) ZnO nanorods were successfully produced using the hydrothermal method and their structural, band gap and refractive indexes were discussed for optoelectronic and sensor applications.