Structural and morphological characterization of transition metal (Fe, Co) doped SnO2nanoparticles

Abstract

Pure and transition metal (Fe, Co) doped SnO2nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using sol-gel method having the general formula Sn(1−x)CoxO2with x = 0, 0.2 and Sn(1−x)FexO2with x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7, 1. The synthesis of tinoxide nanoparticles is followed by their characterization by various spectroscopic techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies depict the crystalline nature of SnO2 nanoparticles. Peak broadness in the XRD patterns indicates the very small size of the nanoparticles. Size of sol-gel synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles observed was lying in the range of 40–70 nm using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Further Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of organic solvent in the sol-gel synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles. These sol-gel synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles can have their potential applications in the field of photo-catalysis and solar cells.