LAUSR

Abstract Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been successfully synthesized by the Pechini sol-gel approach. The effect of three fundamental synthesis parameters on the size, morphology, structural, and optical properties of the prepared products was systematically investigated. The prepared powders were evaluated by XRD, FTIR, DSC/TG, FE-SEM, TEM, and EDS analyses. Based on these experiments, the monoclinic phase structure of highly pure CuO NPs with space group C2/c was characterized. A wide range of crystallite size from 19.1 nm to 45.7 nm were obtained via diverse compositions and calcination temperatures. The preferred orientation (Texture) was found to be altered from (311) to (020). Structural quantities were calculated by Rietveld analysis. Microstructural observations demonstrated that the different morphologies of the CuO NPs (spherical, semi-spherical, and plate-like decorated by semi-spherical NPs) can be achieved by controlling the synthesis parameters. The optical properties of the prepared samples were studied by UV–vis spectroscopy. The estimated direct band gap was decreased from 4.17 eV to 3.01 eV by increasing temperature values. It was found that the size, morphology, texture, and consequently properties of the prepared CuO nanostructures can be controlled by changing the Pechini process parameters.