Morphology, and Band Gap Analysis of Synthesized Pure Phase Nickel Oxide

Nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel technique utilizing nickel nitrate as the precursor and citric acid as a chelating agent. The sol-gel process involved the formation of a gel, which was subsequently subjected to drying and calcination at varying temperatures to obtain NiO nanoparticles. The structural and morphological properties of the synthesized NiO nanoparticles were extensively characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD analysis confirmed the formation of pure NiO with a cubic crystal structure, and the crystallite size was calculated using the Debye-Scherrer equation. FTIR spectra corroborated the presence of characteristic Ni-O stretching vibrations, confirming the phase purity of the nanoparticles. SEM analysis revealed that the average particle size was approximately 12 nm, with slight variations attributable to different calcination temperatures. The optical properties were investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, revealing a direct band gap (Eg) of 2.52 eV, indicative of the material's semiconducting nature. These findings underscore the effectiveness of the sol-gel method in producing NiO nanoparticles with controlled size and desirable optical properties, suitable for various advanced applications.