Modifications in structural, optical and electrical properties of nanocrystalline CdO: role of sintering temperature

Present report deals with the synthesis of nanocrystalline cadmium oxide (CdO) using low-cost acetate precursor based modified sol–gel technique. Final product was sintered at different temperatures and studied for their structural, optical and electrical properties. In this present work, we report the sintering temperature-dependent structural, optical and electrical properties of nanocrystalline cadmium oxide (CdO) grown by cost effective sol–gel method. Structural properties of CdO materials were investigated by X–ray diffraction (XRD) which reveals the crystalline phase of the samples without any detectable impurity within the range of measurements. Crystallite size (CS), calculated using Scherer’s formula, is found in the range of nanometer (<100 nm) and increases with increasing sintering temperature. Average crystallite size of all CdO nanocrystals were estimated using the William–Hall (W–H) plots from XRD patterns. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images were captured to check the crystallinity and particle growth of the samples. The optical properties of nanocrystalline CdO were studied by using UV–Visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectrum. High absorption has been observed for nanocrystalline CdO sintered at lower temperatures. The band gap of nanocrystalline CdO was calculated by using Tauc’s law where band gap increases with increasing sintering temperature. The electrical properties of the samples were studied by performing dielectric and AC conductivity measurements. It is observed that dielectric constant decreases with increase in frequency and sintering temperature. Variation in AC conductivity with light and sintering temperature has been discussed in detail.