Abstract

• The main aim of the research work is to study the preparation and characterization of Cu doped ZnO powder and its electrical and optical properties. Cu doped ZnO nanocrystalline powder was prepared by using a sol-gel method. Cu doped ZnO powder (Zn (1-x) Cu x O) was prepared by using different dopant concentration of Cu (x = 0.03, 0.05). Zn (1-x) Cu x O (x = 0.03, 0.05) was synthesized via the sol-gel technique using new organic precursors pectin and sucrose. The prepared Cu doped ZnO powder was characterized by TG - DTA , XRD, FT IR and SEM analyses.TG-DTA analysis of the synthesized Cu doped ZnO powder was carried out to determine the appropriate calcination temperature. From XRD analysis, it was observed that the crystallite size of the prepared Zn (1-x) Cu x O (x= 0.03, 0.05) are 74 and 72 nm. FT IR spectra of Cu doped ZnO powder, the prominent peak of OH stretching, C-H stretching, O-C-O sym stretching and M-O stretching vibrations was observed. Morphological studies were conducted using SEM to comfirm the grain size and texture. The ac conductivities and dielectric properties of the prepared Cu doped ZnO samples was investigated in the frequency range 10 kHz – 100 kHz by LCR meter. The experimental results indicated that the ac conductivity ( σac ) , dielectric loss factor (tan δ) and dielectric constant (έ) depend on the frequency. It was observed that ac conductivity is inversely proportional to the dielectric loss factor and dielectric constant. UV-Visible spectrum showed absorbance peaks in the 200-800 nm region. It was found that the absorbance does not significantly change with doping. From UV-Visible spectral data, it was found that the band gap values of Zn (1-x) Cu x O (x = 0.03, 0.05) are 3.2 and 3.0 eV.