The Effect of Tartaric Acid Concentration on the Structural, Morphological and Optical Properties of CuO-Fe2O3-MgO Nanocomposite

Abstract

In the present study, the sol-gel method has been utilized to synthesize tri-phase CuO-Fe₂O₃-MgOnanocomposites (NCs) by employing tartaric acid (TA) as an organic fuel. The obtained NCs were characterized using XRD, SEM, FTIR, and UV-Vis. The XRD pattern asserted the formation of NCs with MgO (cubic), CuO (monoclinic), and Fe₂O₃ (hexagonal) crystals. The crystallite size (D_av) was calculated by Scherrer's formula, whereas the optical properties were assessed using UV-Vis spectra. The optical band gap values of the synthesized materials displayed variations related to tartaric acid concentration due to the quantum confinement of tri-metal oxide NCs. The SEM described the morphological properties and FTIR confirmed the formation of interfaces among the metal oxides CuO, Fe₂O₃ and MgO in the NCs. The enhanced optical properties of these tri-metal oxide NCs make them a good candidate for optoelectronic applications.