Exploring the Structural, Optical and Photoluminescence Performances of CuCo₂O₄ and ZnMn₂O₄ Alloying

Abstract

The performance of the structural, linear/ nonlinear optical and photoluminescent properties of CuCo2O4 and ZnMn2O4 alloying was investigated. (1-x)CuCo2O4/(x)ZnMn2O4 (x=0, 0.10, 0.15, 0.2) samples were prepared by the sol-gel and hydrothermal procedures. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements were employed to investigate the structural and microstructural properties applying the Rietveld refinement method. Fourier transform infraed and Raman techniques were applied to explore the structures’ variation and chemical bonding of the obtained phases. Ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy measurements were collected to explore the optical properties. The optical band gap values were determined using the Kubelka-Munk method. All samples exhibited two band gaps in the visible-NIR regions. Upon composing with ZnMn2O4, the band gaps of CuCo2O4 declined for x=0.1 and 0.15, followed by an increase at x=0.2. The possible electronic band structure of the samples and the photoluminescent performance of the prepared samples was investigated. The observed PL patterns manifest wide and asymmetrical emissions. The CIE chromaticity diagram for all samples was plotted. The obtained findings of (1-x)CuCo2O4/(x)ZnMn2O4 nominate their efficient role in optical device fabrication and photocatalyst applications.