Investigating the synergistic effect of Nd3+ and Ni2+ in CuO nanocrystals on their structural, optical, and magnetic properties for photovoltaic and photocatalytic implementations

Abstract

The wet chemical precipitation technique was used to synthesize CuO, Nd:CuO and Ni-Nd:CuO nanoparticles efficiently. The produced substance was tested using X-ray diffraction (XRD) for confirming the crystallite structure, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the morphological properties of the produced materials. Crystal defects and optical properties of the synthesized samples were analyzed through luminescence (PL) investigations and UV–Vis spectroscopy. EIS spectrum was utilized to study the electrochemical behavior of the prepared material. Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) was employed to examine the magnetic properties influencing from the doping of Ni²⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions into CuO, attributed to their substantial magnetic moment and ferromagnetic traits. Photovoltaic efficiency of the prepared material was studied by J-V characteristics and photon-to-electron converting efficacy (IPCE) studies. Photocatalytic properties were studied by degrading MB and RhB dyes. The enhancement in the photocatalytic performance of the Ni-Nd:CuO was a result of suppression of photogenerated electron-hole pair recombination and accelerated separation and migration of photogenerated charges.