A facile and general route to size-controlled synthesis of metal (Ni, Co and Mn) oxide nanoparticle and their optical behavior

Abstract

In this article, we report a general and facile route to prepare transitional metal (Ni, Co and Mn) oxide nanoparticles via soft chemical route followed by the controlled heat treatment. The method has been successfully involved to produce uniform and well-crystalline phase of the different metal oxide nanoparticles. The product materials were characterised by the X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy to investigate the structural and morphological details. Optical absorption study reveals that the NiO and Mn2O3 nanoparticles show single and sharp absorption peak at 327 and 270 nm, respectively, while Co3O4 nanoparticles show two broad peaks centred at 524 and 770 nm. From the photoluminescence spectroscopy study, it is observed that NiO and Mn2O3 nanoparticles show strong emissivity at 324 and 340 nm, respectively, and Co3O4 nanoparticles show weak emission peak at 586 nm. The size variation of the nanoparticle has been presented taking NiO as the typical member of the transitional metal oxide family. The effect of particle size on the emission intensity of NiO nanoparticle has also been discussed.