Photoluminescence and dielectric properties of Cu: SnO2 nanoparticles

Undoped and copper-doped tin oxide nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by sol-gel method and the XRD analysis reveals that the average crystallite size of the copper-doped tin oxide nanoparticles was reduced than the undoped one. The absorbance value was higher for the copper-doped tin oxide nanoparticles. The band gap value shows slight reduction for the copper-doped tin oxide nanoparticles. Photoluminescence quenching was observed in the copper-doped tin oxide nanoparticles mainly in the visible region of the emission spectrum. Optical constants, the valence band and the conduction band potentials for the undoped and the copper-doped tin oxide nanoparticles were calculated.