Tuning the morphological and structural properties of Zinc Oxide by chemical doping of Nickel Oxide

We present in this report the morphological and structural changes of the nanostructures of Zinc oxide (ZnO) doped with Nickle oxide (NiO). The doping was varied by atomic weight percentage of 0 %, 2 %, 4 % and 8 % by solid state reaction method. The pellets with diameter of 1 cm and thickness of about 0.5 cm were fabricated. The nanostructures formed were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and structural properties were measured X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). SEM micrographs showed that fabricated nanostructures were smooth and homogenous. The average grain size was measured for each doping concentration. The grain size increases via increasing amount of doping. From XRD patterns, taking the FWHM and Bragg’s angle, the grain size was calculated using Scherer’s formula. The XRD and SEM results showed a similar trend that doping ZnO with Ni increases the average grain size.