Effect of Al doping on the structural and optical properties of CuO nanoparticles prepared by solution combustion method: Experiment and DFT investigation

In this study, pure and Al doped CuO nanoparticles (NPs) has been synthesized using the solution combustion technique. The effect of the Al dopant on the structural, surface morphological, optical and electronic properties of the CuO NPs was studied. The crystalline structure of the NPs has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. XRD studies indicate that the NPs produced are highly crystalline with tenorite phase. Al doping was found to modify the bond length, and lattice strain of the CuO NPs. The surface morphology of the NPs showed formation of spherical particles for lower Al doping while at higher doping concentration agglomeration of NPs occurs and the particle size changes. A reduction in the optical band gap of the…