Structural Analysis of Nanocrystalline Cu2O Prepared by Electrodeposition at Different Temperatures

Abstract

The results of structural and phase analyses of Cu2O films electrodeposited at different temperatures are reported in this paper. The electrodeposition temperature was varied to obtain a single-phase Cu2O film. Structural information and the phase composition were extracted from X-ray diffraction patterns using a general structure analysis system (GSAS) to perform Rietveld refinement. Increasing the deposition temperature decreased the crystallite size and increased the lattice strain in the films. A preferential orientation was found at relatively high deposition temperatures. The Cu2O phase began to form above room temperature, and a single phase of nanocrystalline Cu2O with a fine crystallite size of 34 nm was grown at a deposition temperature of 75°C. This pure CU2O film had a uniform surface morphology with a direct bandgap energy of 2.18 eV. These results show how temperature controls the structure and phase composition of electrodeposited Cu2O.