Improvement of crystallite size, band gap, and electrical conductivity in Cu-doped Co₃O₄ thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

Haffas, Sabah; Belhamra, Nadjette; Belahsen, Okba; Redjouh, Nourelhouda; Belhamra, Nadjette; Bencharef, Zahia

doi:10.47176/ijpr.25.3.82159

Improvement of crystallite size, band gap, and electrical conductivity in Cu-doped Co₃O₄ thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Sabah Haffas ¹

Nadjette Belhamra ¹

Okba Belahsen ²

Nourelhouda Redjouh ¹

Nadjette Belhamra ¹

Zahia Bencharef ¹

¹ Physics Laboratory of Thin Layers and Applications, University of Biskra, BP 145 RP, Biskra 07000, Algeria

² Laboratory of Metallic and Semi-Conducting Materials, University of Biskra, B.P. 145, 07000 Biskra, Algeria

https://doi.org/10.47176/ijpr.25.3.82159

Abstract

In this study, we synthesized undoped and doped cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) thin films at a concentration of 0.2 M, incorporating varying copper doping levels of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 wt. % through spray pyrolysis technique (SPT). The present investigation aims to enhance the characteristics of the films, including the crystalline size, band gap energy, and electrical conductivity. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) were used to determine the size of the crystalline structures. The findings indicate that incorporating Cu leads to an increase in the crystallite size. The crystal size (D) increased to 40.94 nm after doping with 10 wt.% Cu. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping analysis validated the presence of copper within the Co₃O₄ thin films. We identified two distinct band gaps from the absorption coefficient measurements: E₁ and E₂. The band gap energy values ranged from 1.441 to 1.388 eV and from 2.061 to 2.012 eV, depending on the Cu doping concentration. The electrical properties demonstrated a reduction in the Rsheet resistance and an enhancement in the electrical conductivity as the concentration of Cu increased.

Keywords

Co3O4

Copper doping

structural properties

optical results

Electrical findings

Subjects

Thin Films

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