Fe-doped CuO deposited by spray pyrolysis technique

Pure CuO and Fe-doped CuO nanostructures with different weight ratios (0%, 1%, 2%, 3% of Fe) were deposited on heated glass substrate by using a simple and low cost spray pyrolysis technique. The as-deposited thin films were carried out at fixed substrate temperature of 350°C. The Structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The X-Ray Diffraction spectra showed that all samples exhibit polycrystalline nature corresponding to monoclinic crystal structure with two preferred orientations along the (-111) and (111) axis and confirmed that Fe ions incorporated successfully into CuO crystal lattice by occupying Cu ions sites. Polycrystalline morphology changes considerably with the variation of Fe content. Roughness parameters Ra and Rms of the surface and the grain size were estimated. Furthermore, the bandgap energy of the obtained CuO nanostructures was 1.47eV and the value was slightly decreased by Fe substitution. In addition, Hall Effect measurements revealed that the iron doping induced an increase in the resistivity.