Volume 37 (2019): Issue 3 (September 2019)

In this paper, Cd_0.3Zn_0.7S thin film has been electrodeposited from aqueous bath containing CdSO₄, ZnSO₄, Na₂S₂O₃ and EDTA, having pH ~ 14. The structural, optical, morphological, surface wettability and photoluminescence properties of the film were investigated. The XRD pattern showed that the film consisted of mixed phases of CdS and ZnS with polycrystalline structure. The bandgap of the film was evaluated as 2.69 eV. The AFM study revealed that the Cd_0.3Zn_0.7S thin film contained spherical grains with root mean square roughness of 6.09 nm. The water contact angle measurement showed that the thin film was hydrophilic in nature. Moreover, the PL study revealed that the excitation wavelength was 460 nm.

L-cysteine hydrogen fluoride (LCHF) single crystals were grown from aqueous solution. Single crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, UV-Vis-NIR, and TG-DTA were used to test the grown crystals. The specimen dielectric and mechanical behaviors were also studied. Powder X-ray diffraction of the grown crystal was recorded and indexed. The optical properties of the LCHF crystal were determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. It was found that the optical band gap of LCHF was 4.8 eV. The crystal functional groups were identified using FT-IR. Second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of the LCHF was three times higher than that of KDP. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and AC conductivity were measured at different frequencies and temperatures.

An organic single crystal of 4-chloroanilinium hydrogen (2R,3R)-tartrate monohydrate (4CAHT) was grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique at room temperature. Single crystal XRD study confirmed that the crystal belongs to monoclinic system with the space group P2₁. Powder XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the compound. The presence of various functional groups in the compound was revealed by FT-IR analysis. UV studies showed the absence of absorption in the entire visible region. To determine the thermal stability of the grown crystals it was subjected to thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses. Microhardness and etching studies were also carried out for the crystal. The powder second harmonic generation efficiency of 4CAHT was tested by Kurtz and Perry powder technique and the relative SHG efficiency of 4CAHT was found to be 1.44 times greater than that of standard KDP.

CdS thin films with (1 1 1) orientation were prepared by chemical bath deposition technique at 80±5 °C using the reaction between NH₄OH, CdCl₂ and CS(NH₂)₂. The influence of annealing temperature varying from 150 °C to 250 °C was studied. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the films are polycrystalline in nature with cubic structure. Various parameters, such as dislocation density, stress and strain, were also evaluated. SEM analysis indicated uniformly distributed nano-structured spherically shaped grains and net like morphology. Optical transmittance study showed the wide transmittance band and absence of absorption in the entire visible region. I-V characterization of p-Si/n-CdS diode and photoluminescence studies were also carried out for the CdS films.

Simulated transmission spectra for tapered fibers with no taper, one taper and two tapers in the near infrared wavelength range, calculated by Finite-Difference-Time-Domain method are currently presented. Transmission peak positions tend to shift to the shorter wavelength when the taper deformation is added to the fiber or the taper width gets narrower. The thickness sensitivity for the tapered structures with different taper thicknesses is about 2.28e-3 nm·µm⁻¹. There is an interference structure in the electric field distribution images, which reveals in the fiber structures. The transmission spectra for the fiber without taper, one taper and two-tapered structures were simulated in near infrared wavelength by FDTD. The transmission spectra for tlated in near infrared wavelength by FDTD. The sensitivity of the fiber was about 50 nm × RIU⁻¹ and it had better refractive index detection. The tapered fiber can be applied to the bio-chemical sensors and physical deformation testing.

Solid polymer electrolytes based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) doped with LiPF₆ have been prepared using solution casting technique. Electrical properties of prepared electrolyte films were analyzed using AC impedance spectroscopy. The ionic conductivity was found to increase with increasing salt concentration. The maximum conductivity of 8.94 × 10⁻³ S·cm⁻¹ was obtained at ambient temperature for the film containing 20 mol% of LiPF₆. The conductivity enhancement was correlated to the enhancement of available charge carriers. The formation of a complex between the polymer and salt was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The optical nature of the polymer electrolyte films was analyzed through UV-Vis spectroscopy.

The present work reports on the optimization of substrate temperature, molar concentration and volume of the solution of nickel oxide (NiO) thin films prepared by nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP) technique. NiO films were optimized and characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, UV-Vis and I-V measurements. Based on XRD analysis, the molar concentration, volume of solution and substrate temperature of the prepared NiO films were optimized as 0.20 M, 5 mL and 450 °C for P-N diode applications. The XRD pattern of the optimized NiO film revealed cubic structure. The surface morphological variations and elemental composition were confirmed by SEM and EDX analysis. The optical properties were studied with UV-Vis spectrophotometer and the minimum band gap value was 3.67 eV for 450 °C substrate temperature. Using J-V characteristics, the diode parameters: ideality factor n and barrier height Φ_b values of p-NiO/N-Si diode prepared at optimum conditions, i.e. 450 °C, 0.2 M, 5 mL, were evaluated in dark and under illumination.

Copper oxide and cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄, CuO) nanocrystals (NCs) have been successfully prepared using microwave irradiation. The obtained powders of the nanocrystals (NCs) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The obtained results confirm the presence of both nanooxides which have been produced during chemical precipitation using microwave irradiation. TEM micrographs have shown that the obtained nanocrystals are characterized by high dispersion and narrow size distribution. The results of X-ray diffraction confirmed those obtained from the transmission electron microscope. Optical absorption analysis indicated the direct band gap for both kinds of the nanocrystals.

In this work, polypyrrole and polythiophene conducting polymers (CPs) have been synthesized and doped with volcanic basalt rock (VBR) in order to improve their dielectric properties for technological applications. The structure and morphology of the composites with different VBR doping concentrations were characterized by FT-IR and SEM analyses. The best charge storage ability was achieved for maximum VBR doping concentration (50.0 wt.%) for both CPs. Dielectric relaxation types of the composites were determined as non-Debye type due to non-zero absorption coefficient and observation of semicircles whose centers were below Z′ axis at the Nyquist plots. It was also ascertained that VBR doping makes the molecular orientation easier than for non-doped samples and reduced energy requirement of molecular orientation. In addition, AC conductivity was totally masked by DC conductivity for all samples at low frequency.

In the present study, nanocrystalline undoped and Fe (5 wt.%) doped ZnO powder has been synthesized by soft chemical route. The structural, nano/microstructural, vibrational and magnetic properties of these samples have been studied as a function of calcination temperature (400 °C to 1100 °C). X-ray diffraction analysis of Fe doped ZnO powder has shown the major nanocrystalline wurtzite (ZnO) phase and the minor cubic spinel-like secondary nanocrystalline phase at 700 °C. At calcination temperature of 700 °C, the magnetization and coercivity have been enhanced in Fe doped ZnO. As the calcination temperature increased to 1100 °C, the major phase of ZnO and minor cubic spinel-like secondary phase turned into bulk in doped ZnO. Interestingly, the reduced magnetization and zero coercivity have been observed in this case. These changes are attributed to the conversion of secondary nanocrystalline ferromagnetic spinel phase to its bulk paramagnetic phase. The degree of inversion i.e. the occupancy of both sites with different symmetry by ferric ions is proposed to be solely responsible for the unusual behavior.

Modifications in morphological and plasmonic properties of heavily doped Ag-TiO₂ nanocomposite thin films by ion irradiation have been observed. The Ag-TiO₂ nanocomposite thin films were synthesized by RF co-sputtering and irradiated by 90 MeV Ni ions with different fluences. The modifications in morphological, structural and plasmonic properties of the nanocomposite thin films caused by ion irradiation were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The thickness of the film and concentration of Ag were assessed by Rutheford backscattering (RBS) as ~50 nm and 56 at.%, respectively. Interestingly, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) appeared at 566 nm in the thin film irradiated at the fluence of 1 × 10¹³ ions/cm². This plasmonic behavior can be attributed to the increment in interparticle separation. Increased interparticle separation diminishes the plasmonic coupling between the nanoparticles and the LSPR appears in the visible region. The distribution of Ag nanoparticles obtained from HR-TEM images has been used to simulate absorption spectra and electric field distribution along Ag nanoparticles with the help of FDTD (Finite Difference Time Domain). Further, the ion irradiation results (experimental as well simulated) were compared with the annealed nanocomposite thin film and it was found that optical properties of heavily doped metal in the metal oxide matrix can be more improved by ion irradiation in comparison with thermal annealing.

A novel semiorganic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal, bis(thiourea) barium nitrate (BTBN) was synthesized and grown by slow evaporation method. Structure of the new crystalline compound was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and it showed that BTBN belongs to orthorhombic crystal system. The crystalline nature of the BTBN was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction study. Important functional groups of BTBN were identified by FT-IR spectroscopic analysis. UV-Vis-NIR spectral study showed that the grown crystal is transparent in the entire visible region with low cut off wavelength of 304 nm. BTBN exhibits a SHG efficiency which is nearly 2.38 times higher than that of KDP. The BTBN crystal has high mechanical strength and belongs to soft category, which was confirmed by micorhardness study. The thermal stability of BTBN was determined from TGA and DTA thermal study which revealed that the BTBN crystal has thermal stability up to 243.1 °C. The surface properties and presence of elements was analyzed by SEM and EDAX study, respectively.

The effect of electrodeposition potential on the magnetic properties of the FeCoNi films has been reported in this paper. The FeCoNi electrodeposition was carried out from sulfate solution using potentiostatic technique. The obtained FeCoNi films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It has been shown that the electrodeposition potential applied during the synthesis process determines the magnetic characteristics of FeCoNi films. The more negative potential is applied, the higher Ni content is in the FeCoNi alloy. At the same time, Co and Fe showed almost similar trend in which the content decreased with an increase in applied potential. The mean crystallite size of FeCoNi films was ranging from 11 nm to 15 nm. VSM evaluation indicated that the FeCoNi film is a ferromagnetic alloy with magnetic anisotropy. The high saturation magnetization of FeCoNi film was ranging from 86 A·m²/kg to 105 A·m²/kg. The film is a soft magnetic material which was revealed by a very low coercivity value in the range of 1.3 kA/m to 3.7 kA/m. Both the saturation magnetization and coercivity values decreased at a more negative electrodeposition potential.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process was conducted for synthesis of boron (B) doped aluminum nitride (B-AlN) thin films on aluminum (Al) substrates. To prevent melting of the Al substrates, film deposition was carried out at 500 °C using tert-buthylamine (^tBuNH₂) solution delivered through a bubbler as a nitrogen source instead of ammonia gas (NH₃). B-AlN thin films were prepared from three precursors at changing process parameters (gas mixture ratio). X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to investigate the structural and surface properties of B-AlN thin films on Al substrates. The prepared thin films were polycrystalline and composed of mixed phases {cubic (1 1 1) and hexagonal (1 0 0)} of AlN and BN with different orientations. Intensive AlN peak of high intensity was observed for the film deposited at a flow rate of the total gas mixture of 25 sccm. As the total gas mixture flow decreased from 60 sccm to 25 sccm, the crystallite size of AlN phase increased and the dislocation density decreased. Reduced surface roughness (10.4 nm) was detected by AFM for B-AlN thin film deposited on Al substrate using the lowest flow rate (25 sccm) of the total gas mixture.

Nanocrystalline zinc sulfide thin films were prepared on glass substrates by chemical bath deposition method using aqueous solutions of zinc chloride, thiourea ammonium hydroxide along with non-toxic complexing agent trisodium citrate in alkaline medium at 80 °C. The effect of deposition time and annealing on the properties of ZnS thin films was investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical transmittance spectroscopy and four-point probe method. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the samples exhibited cubic sphalerite structure with preferential orientation along 〈2 0 0〉 direction. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs revealed uniform surface coverage, UV-Vis (300 nm to 800 nm) spectrophotometric measurements showed transparency of the films (transmittance ranging from 69 % to 81 %), with a direct allowed energy band gap in the range of 3.87 eV to 4.03 eV. After thermal annealing at 500 °C for 120 min, the transmittance increased up to 87 %. Moreover, the electrical conductivity of the deposited films increased with increasing of the deposition time from 0.35 × 10⁻⁴ Ω·cm⁻¹ to 2.7 × 10⁻⁴ Ω·cm⁻¹.

DFT analyses of electronic and optical spectra of barium cadmium chalcogenides (Ba₂CdX₃, X = S, Se, Te) have been carried out. The study of electronic spectra has been made in terms of band structure and density of states using full potential linear augmented plane wave plus local orbital method. Band structure calculations have been carried out under the approximations PBE-GGA, PBE-Sol, LDA and TB-mBJ. Band structures of these materials show that Ba₂CdS₃, Ba₂CdSe₃ and Ba₂CdTe₃ crystals possess a band gap less than 1 eV, underestimated relative to the experimental/theoretical literature values. Optical spectra of these chalcogenides have been analyzed in terms of real and imaginary parts of dielectric function, reflectivity, refractive index, extinction coefficient, absorption coefficient, optical conductivity and electron energy loss. Optical results show large anisotropy along different directions. These results provide a physical basis of barium cadmium chalcogenides for potential application in optoelectronic devices.

Binary and ternary nanocomposites based on TiO₂, SiO₂ and ZnO were synthesized by PVA-based template-free gel combustion method. The morphology and the particles sizes of the synthesized samples depended on some parameters including the initial concentrations of metal salts and PVA amount in the sol, solvent composition and solution pH. Effects of these parameters were investigated and optimized by using the Taguchi method. In the experimental design, the Taguchi L₂₅ array was used to investigate six factors at five levels. The samples were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface areas, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained results showed that the present method can be used to synthesize TiO₂/SiO₂/ZnO ternary nanocomposite with an effective surface area of 0.3 m² · g⁻¹ and ZnO/TiO₂, TiO₂/SiO₂, ZnO/SiO₂ binary nanocomposites with an effective surface area of 234 m² · g⁻¹, 6 m² · g⁻¹ and 0.5 m² · g⁻¹, respectively. The ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite which was synthesized under the following experimental conditions: 2.5 wt.% Zn salt, 2.5 wt.% Ti salt, 2.0 wt.% PVA, pH = 1 and ethanol:water ratio 30:70 was selected by the Taguchi method as an optimum sample with the smallest particles (average diameter = 50 nm).

Al doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were prepared on silica substrates by sol-gel method. The films showed a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred orientation along c-axis. Suitable Al doping dramatically improved the crystal quality compared to the undoped ZnO films. Dependent on the Al dopant concentration, the diffraction peak of (0 0 2) plane in XRD spectra showed at first right-shifting and then left-shifting, which was attributed to the change in defect concentration induced by the Al dopant. Photocatalytic properties of the AZO film were characterized by degradation of methyl orange (MO) under simulated solar light. The transmittance of the films was enhanced by the Al doping, and the maximum transmittance of 80 % in the visible region was observed in the sample with Al concentration of 1.5 at.% (mole fraction). The film with 1.5 at.% Al doping achieved also maximum photocatalytic activity of 68.6 % under solar light. The changes in the film parameters can be attributed to the variation in defect concentration induced by different Al doping content.

In this paper, employing of one-dimensional magnetophotonic crystals in infrared wavelengths range is considered. For this purpose, magnetophotonic multilayer structures, composed of magnetic defect layer surrounded by dielectric and MO Bragg mirrors, have been proposed. Ce:YIG with an optical thickness in the range of 0 to λ_s was used as a magnetic material. By using four by four transfer matrix method, the transmittance values and Faraday rotation (FR) angles of these structures were computed. The electric field distribution was obtained by Finite Element Method (FEM). By investigation of transmittance and FR angle of magnetophotonic crystals, it was possible to design the optimized structures with a rotation larger than 30 degrees and high transmittance. Such structures with a few micrometer thickness and fast magneto-optical (MO) responses have the potential to be used in MO devices like integrated photonic elements and sensors.

GaN thin films were deposited on p-Si(1 0 0) substrates using RF magnetron sputtering at various RF powers. Influence of RF power on morphological, optical and structural properties of GaN thin films were investigated and presented in detail. XRD results proved that the films were polycrystalline in structure with (1 0 0) and (1 1 0) planes of hexagonal GaN. It was found that increasing RF power led to deterioration of crystal structure of the films due to increased decomposition of GaN. Stress in GaN thin films was calculated from XRD measurements and the reasons for this stress were discussed. Furthermore, it was analyzed and interpreted whether the experimental measurement results support each other. E₂ (high) optical phonon mode of hexagonal GaN was obtained from the analysis of Raman results. UV-Vis spectroscopy results showed that optical band gap of the films varied by changing RF power. The reasons of this variation were discussed. AFM study of the surfaces of the GaN thin films showed that some of them were grown in Stranski-Krastanov mode and others were grown in Frank-Van der Merwe mode. AFM measurements revealed almost homogeneous, nanostructured, low-roughness surface of the GaN thin films. SEM analysis evidenced agglomerations in some regions of surface of the films and their possible causes have been discussed. It has been inferred that morphological, optical, structural properties of GaN thin film can be changed by controlling RF power, making them a potential candidate for LED, solar cell, diode applications.

The present research is focused on developing ZnAl₂O₄ (gahnite) spinel as an antireflection coating material for enhanced energy conversion of polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PSSC). ZnAl₂O₄ has been synthesized using dual precursors, namely aluminum nitrate nonahydrate and zinc nitrate hexahydrate in ethanol media. Diethanolamine has been used as a sol stabilizer in sol-gel process for ZnAl₂O₄ nanosheet fabrication. ZnAl₂O₄ nanosheet was deposited layer-by-layer (LBL) on PSSC by spin coating method. The effect of ZnAl₂O₄ coating on the physical, electrical, optical properties and temperature distribution in PSSC was investigated. The synthesized antireflection coating (ARC) material bears gahnite (ZnAl₂O₄) spinel crystal structure composed of two dimensional (2D) nanosheets. An increase in layer thickness proves the LBL deposition of ARC on the PSSC substrate. The ZnAl₂O₄ 2D nanosheet comprising ARC on the PSSC was tested and it exhibited a maximum of 93 % transmittance, short-circuit photocurrent of 42.364 mA/cm² and maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) 23.42 % at a low cell temperature (50.2 °C) for three-layer ARC, while the reference cell exhibited 33.518 mA/cm², 15.74 % and 59.1 °C, respectively. Based on the results, ZnAl₂O₄ 2D nanosheets have been proven as an appropriate ARC material for increasing the PCE of PSSC.

PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The effect of NaOH concentration, reaction temperature and time on nucleation and growth of PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals was investigated. As the 0.05 mol/L PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ precursors were heated at 200 °C for 21 h with NaOH concentration of 0.5 mol/L, the tetragonal PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals were formed, and the grain size was more than 20 nm. With increasing the NaOH concentration from 0.5 to 1.5 mol/L, the grain size of PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals decreased. When the precursors were heated at different temperatures (140 °C to 200 °C) for 21 h with 1.0 mol/L NaOH, single-phase PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals were obtained at 160 °C to 200 °C. With increasing the reaction temperature from 160 °C to 200 °C, the grains size of PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals increased from 5 nm to 9 nm. When the precursors were heated at 160 °C in different reaction times from 6 h to 21 h, the evolution from amorphous to crystalline PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals in correlation with the reaction time was observed. Single crystalline PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ nanocrystals with narrow size distribution (from 5 nm to 9 nm) were synthesized by controlling the NaOH concentration, reaction temperature and time. The obtained results can find potential application in preparing PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ thin films on flexible substrates.

The SiN/SiO₂ stack is widely used to passivate the surface of n-type monocrystalline silicon solar cells. In this work, we have undertaken a study to compare the stack layer obtained with SiO₂ grown by both rapid thermal and chemical ways to passivate n-type monocrystalline silicon surface. By varying the plateau time and the plateau temperature of the rapid thermal oxidation, we determined the parameters to grow 10 nm thick oxide. Two-step nitric acid oxidation was used to grow 2 nm thick silicon oxide. Silicon nitride films with three refractive indices were used to produce the SiN/SiO₂ stack. Regarding this parameter, the minority carrier lifetime measured by means of QSSPC revealed that the refractive index of 1.9 ensured the best passivation quality of silicon wafer surface. We also found that stacks with nitric acid oxidation showed definitely the best passivation quality. In addition to produce the most efficient passivation, this technique has the lowest thermal budget.

The paper presents the new way of preparation of MCF foams with NaY zeolite. Significant changes in the amount of micro and mesopores in relation to the amount of NaY zeolite and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) added during the synthesis was observed. It suggests the possibility of controlling the micro/mesopores ratio by applying the proposed method. Environmental aspects of using new MCF/NaY foams is related to the adsorption of thorium ions (Th⁺⁴). The term of “MCF/NaY materials” refers to the general name of the material without referring to the content and state of zeolite. The obtained materials were highly effective in relation to Th⁺⁴. The adsorption capacity was greater when the number of micropores was lower. The dependence of adsorption capacity of Th⁺⁴ ions on aluminum atoms content was also confirmed.

In this work, we have presented a theoretical study of Au/Ni/GaN Schottky diode based on current-voltage (I-V) measurement for temperature range of 120 K to 400 K. The electrical parameters of Au/Ni/GaN, such as barrier height (Φ_b), ideality factor and series resistance have been calculated employing the conventional current-voltage (I-V), Cheung and Chattopadhyay method. Also, the variation of Gaussian distribution (P (Φ_b)) as a function of barrier height (Φ_b) has been studied. Therefore, the modified ((ln⁡(I0T2)−(q2σs022kT2)=ln⁡(AA*)−q∅B0kT)vs.(1kT))( {( {\ln \left( {{{{\rm{I}}_0 } \over {{\rm{T}}^2 }}} \right) - \left( {{{{\rm{q}}^2 \sigma _{{\rm{s}}0}^2 } \over {2{\rm{kT}}^2 }}} \right) = \ln ( {{\rm{AA}}^*} ) - {{{\rm{q}}\emptyset_{{\rm B}0} } \over {{\rm{kT}}}}} ){\rm{vs}}.( {{1 \over {{\rm{kT}}}}} )} ) relation has been extracted from (I-V) characteristics, where the values of Φ_B0 and ASimul*{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{Simul}}}^* have been found in different temperature ranges. The obtained results have been compared to the existing experimental data and a good agreement was found.

Nanostructures of copper (II) oxide were synthesized through chemical reduction of copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate using phytochemicals present in leaf extracts of Leucas aspera. The crystalline phases and size were assessed by X-ray diffraction data analysis. From the Bragg reflection peaks, existence of monoclinic end-centered phase of copper (II) oxide along with presence of cubic primitive phase of copper (I) oxide and traces of cubic face centered lattices of zero valent copper was revealed. The three Raman active modes corresponding to CuO phase were identified in the sample with permissible merging of characteristic bands due to nanostructuring and organic capping. The surface topography measurement using field emission scanning electron microscope evidenced the occurrence of cylindrical rod shaped morphological structures along with a number of unshaped aggregates in the sample. The effective crystallite size and lattice strain were estimated from Williamson-Hall analysis of Bragg reflection data. Tauc plot analysis of UV-Vis-NIR absorption data in direct transition mode provided an estimation of band gap, viz. 1.83 eV and 2.06 eV respectively, for copper (II) oxide and copper (I) oxide. Thermal degradation study using thermogravimetric curve analysis could reveal the amount of moisture content, volatile components as well as the polymer capping over nanorods present in the sample. It could be seen that upon heating, inorganic core crystals undergo oxidation process and at temperature above 464 °C, the sample was found to be composed solely of inorganic crystallite phase of copper (II) oxide.

Potassium iodide (KI) doped potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) single crystals were grown by slow evaporation technique using millipore water as a solvent. The grown single crystals were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction and the analysis confirmed that KI-doped KHP crystallizes in orthorhombic system with space group Pca2₁. The functional groups were identified by FT-IR technique which showed slight shift in vibrational frequencies, indicating inclusion of dopant into the crystal lattice. The UV-Vis spectral studies revealed the optical transparency of the doped crystals in the entire visible region. The optical band gap values were estimated from Tauc plots. Kurtz-Perry powder test was employed for second harmonic generation efficiency studies of the grown crystals.